SleepWalk
by FireAngel375
Summary: Harry does a little sleepwalking during the night. Set during HBP, HarrySeverus slash. Not a oneshot anymore. Ignores Slughorn as Potion Master.
1. Waking up in strange places

**A/N: Hello and welcome to my story. This story contains language, a breif male slash sex scene, and adult situations, so do not read if you have a problem with any of these. Oh and yes, bear in mind this is a one shot. Now enjoy and perhaps review. Thank you.**

**Title:** Sleep-walk  
**Description:** Harry does a little sleep-walking.  
**Paring:** Severus Snape/Harry Potter  
**Rating:** R  
**Warnings:** Male!Sex.  
**Length:** 3,000 words!

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A door creaks breaking the silence that Severus was so accustomed to at night. He had been pacing his study, his long, thin finger running over the countless titles on his bookshelf. Lord Voldemort had called to him once more just hours before demanding a truth potion for interrogating two Ministry members that had been captured, and now Severus was trying to find something that would look convincing enough to the Dark Lord, without having to make the real thing.

The hand that had not been touching the dusty volumes on the shelves held a half smoked cigarette which he was periodically taking a drag from as he thought. He had nearly dropped the butt when he heard his chamber door squeak, and instantly his body went into alert. Who would be breaking into his quarters at this hour? An assassin? Or was it Dumbledore, who never was a man to properly introduce himself?

Severus held his breath as he waited for more signs of a persona. It didn't take long for him to hear shallow breathing and heavy footsteps right outside his library; they were close because he could hear them through the solid maple door. Severus slowly reached for his wand, watching the door carefully, and waiting for an attack from whoever was on the other side, his Cigarette abandoned on the floor. Silently he cast a spell to extinguish all the lamps in his study, and he then lit the tip of his wand. Now he was in control of the light and who could see him. He could tell his visitor had no light source, otherwise he would have seen it beaming through the crack under the door.

Quietly now he snuck forward towards his door in the darkness, with a grace only Severus Snape could possess. Slowly now he turned the doorknob, his mind concentrating on the breathing he heard on the other side, and when the door swung open, he held his wand at the ready.

Severus expected to see a Death Eater at the very least, wand also at the ready, charging to kill him, but instead he was faced with something he wouldn't have expected in a million years; a clearly sleep-walking Potter. Severus couldn't believe what he was seeing and for a moment all he could do was stare at the boy in front of him, who was half illuminated in his wand light.

Harry was standing with his hand outstretched towards Severus, his head thrown back, and his mouth hanging open. His pajamas were striped and a size too small for him, for Snape could spy Harry's knobby ankles. The sight was so ludicrous that Snape was sure he was dreaming. He glanced back into his dark study as though he almost expected to see himself asleep in his red velvet chair, but no. The same darkness that pressed around the pair of them now, also pressed around his study.  
How Potter had broken into his quarters was Severus' next question. He had every curse and charm for protection on his door, that Lord Voldemort himself probably could not have broken through so how did 16 year old Harry do so without a scratch? Then, as Severus took a step forward, his answer became clear. He had forgotten a spell for invisibility cloaks. Harry's subconscious must have somehow known his password, and he got in.

Severus sighed and kicked the invisibility cloak on the ground, a headache now starting to form near his temple. What was he to do with Potter now? It was dangerous to wake up a sleep-walker, but he certainly didn't want the Gryffindor brat to be in his quarters. Why he had chosen to sleep-walk there was the greatest mystery of all. Now all Snape could think to do would be to carefully lead the boy to his bed, and lay Harry down until he woke up, at which point Severus planned to take 50 points from Gryffindor, and give Harry so many detentions that he would never be able to play Quidditch again. So, Snape lowered his wand, put his arm securely around Harry's waist, and carefully steered the Boy-Who-Lived to his bedroom.

Harry was dreaming as they walked, Snape could tell. People are easiest to read when they're dreaming, and Severus just happened to be able to read minds. Harry's dream was actually a surprise to Severus; it was about him. Harry was dreaming that he was sitting in the great hall eating breakfast, and his eyes were locked on the seat that Severus usually sat at, but Severus' seat was empty. Snape could feel the large waves of worry that were coming from Harry's dream state, and it instantly explained why Harry had ended up where he was. For some reason he was concerned about Snape's location, and subconsciously had gone to look for him.

Harry's dream went on, and as Severus dragged his increasingly limp body, he became even more confused. In Harry's dream Dumbledore stood up and waved his hands so all the decorations in the great all went black like they did when the Diggory boy had died. He then started speaking to the great hall, his loud voice booming, and echoing across all of the saddened looking faces.

It was as if Dumbledore was speaking in Snape's own head. He heard every word. Dumbledore had said; "Today we lost an important man to our school and to our community."

Harry's field of vision in his dream temporary wavered over to where the Slytherin table was, and focused on Pansy Parkinson, who burst into tears and clinged to Draco Malfoy, who suddenly didn't look so pompous and proud as he usually did. Harry then switched back to Dumbledore who was waiting for the slight murmur to settle.

"As many of you have been finding out," Dumbledore continued, "Severus Snape was a spy for our side in the fight against Lord Voldemort." He paused again and looked around the room sadly as though he didn't know what to say next. "Last night, two Death Eaters broke into the castle and murdered Severus in his sleep. I promise you, both have been caught, but unfortunately not fast enough to save Professor Snape from a terrible fate." Next to Dumbledore, McGonagall gave a hearty sniff, a monogrammed handkerchief to her nose. And on Dumbledore's other side sat Hagrid, who was sobbing into his trash bin lid sized hands. Again Severus could feel the anger and sadness seeping from Harry's sleeping body. Reluctantly however, Severus cut off his connection to the boy's dream fore he had seen enough.  
Harry was concerned about him; but why? And was he really aware that Snape was a spy, or was he just hoping it so Severus would be good?

Severus reached his bed and lay Harry down, and suddenly felt himself feel a bit differently toward him. Even though they were both very cruel to each other, Harry actually cared about him secretly. It made him feel strange. No one had actually cared about him before, why did this boy? His answer came as he pulled his black satin blanket over Harry. Severus' hand accidently brushed Harry's skin, once again reconnecting their minds together.

As Potter curled up in the warmth of Severus' king sized bed, his dream changed, as did Harry's mood. Love and longing was now coming from him, instead of misery. Severus conjured up a chair so he could sit next to his bed and was expecting to witness a silly love dream involving Harry and perhaps a pretty young girl like Ginny Weasley, but he was in for a shock.  
Dream Harry was now laid out on a full sized bed, wearing nothing but a tee-shirt and boxers. The sheets were white and gold, and they matched the gold walls of the room, and the white carpeted floor. On the wall was a black marble plaque which read 'Room of Requirement'. Harry seemed to be waiting for someone fore he stared at the door expectantly, once in a while peering at his wrist watch. He smiled as the door opened, and in came a dream version of Severus himself.

Severus was almost so appalled by this that he nearly broke his connection with Harry. He felt his mind shake from the mixture of shock and willingness to stay connected to the boy's dream. In the end, Snape stayed connected, and he stayed that way the whole entire dream. He watched himself shuffle through the gleaming and beautiful gold and white room, himself looking very out of place. He was wearing a black traveling cloak, buttoned high on himself, hiding his neck. His dark hair was spilling elegantly onto his shoulders, shining from cleanliness, and his robes swept the ground as he advanced towards the Dream Harry, and he watched himself sit on the edge of the bed, and stare at the boy in front of him.

Severus would never admit it to anyone, but Dream Harry was very attractive. The blue shirt he wore was unbuttoned at the top to reveal a peak of his black chest hair on his milky white skin. His Almond shaped eyes which were usually emerald green were lighter than usual, but it may have been the absence of Harry's glasses, which made the boy look very different. His lightening scar stood out lividly on his pale skin, and his unshaven man scruff made the seventeen year old grow up a couple years.

Dream Severus seemed to agree with him because he watched as his own mouth curled into a slight smile that he rarely ever did himself. He watched Harry return the smile, and then watched as everything unfolded.  
"You're late Professor Snape, 30 points from Slytherin." Harry said this sarcastically, his smile turning smug, and his eyebrows rising.

"I am never late Mister Potter." Dream Severus replied. "I arrive exactly when I mean to. 30 points from Gryffindor." There was a slight pause, then both Dream Harry and Dream Severus burst out laughing, and Severus laughed so hard that he fell over right next to Harry.

"I'm glad you came though." Harry said quietly, his tone changing from joking to serious. "I've wanted this for a long time you know that."

Dream Severus ran his finger down Harry's scar absentmindedly, and then his hand cupped the side of Harry's face. "I know"  
Severus in reality was at a loss as he watched this. So many emotions ran through him, and he was so confused. How dare this student think this way about a powerful wizard like him? Then he had to remind himself that one cannot control their own dreams and they are merely our minds organizing themselves. But that still didn't change the fact that it was so weird to be seeing Harry Potter dream about Severus being anything but cruel and harsh toward him, which was what he almost always was. He was half tempted to wake Harry before the dream could go on, but a part of him was so interested, he wanted the dream to go on. Snape laid his arms on the edge of the bed farthest from Potter's sleeping body and leaned his head against his arms, deciding to watch the rest of the dream just to see what happened.

Dream Harry and Dream Snape began to kiss; slow at first and hesitant, but soon the kiss was deepened, and both Harry and Severus grabbed at each other, their bodies pressing together. As they moved the white sheets shifted with them, bunching them together in a cocoon of blankets and sheets. They both stood out vibrantly fore Harry had black hair, and Snape was clad head to toe in black.

The making out went on for quite a while, both Harry and Severus wiggling around so one would be on top then the other, and once they were side by side snogging, Harry reached for the zipper of Snape's trousers, making them pause.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Severus heard himself say. If he had really been in the situation he was watching (witch would never happen in a millions years) He would have never asked for permission to do something. So he could right away see that Harry was just guessing on how Severus would react in certain situations because his dream version of himself was flawed. In real life Severus was always in control, and took what he wanted.

Though there was something in Harry's throaty yes that made his stomach jolt. The want and need behind that yes was something Severus had never heard before, and was sure he'd never hear again. Maybe he would ask permission in that situation, just to hear that beautiful moan again.

He watched Dream Severus and Dream Harry shed their clothing, and almost laughed to see what Harry thought he looked like naked. He certainly was not that hairy, neither was his cock that small. Though he felt flattered that Harry thought he looked so good underneath his clothes. His dream version was near perfection. His milk white skin was lightly freckled, and he even had defined muscles. When in reality, Severus was much thinner, and his pale skin was littered with scars from when he was a self harmer as a child. He also had other scars that Dumbledore himself didn't know where they came from. They were Severus' secret and were to stay that way.

Severus felt himself before sadder and sadder as he watched what Harry dreamed. His dream self was being so careful with Harry as he took him, which yet again was something that was very out of his character. Severus was careful with no human, not even himself. Countless times he had put his body on the line for his potions career.  
Harry moaned so much as Dream Severus thrust into his waiting body, his chest pressing against Harry's back, as each of them began to breathe heavier as they went on. The real Harry lying on Severus' bed squirmed a bit and moaned a little too. Harry was enjoying this display; again Snape felt a pang of sadness. In Harry's dream he was making love to his potion master, and the behavior Harry craved from Severus himself was so out of character for him that it almost hurt.

Dream Severus was now thrusting faster and deeper into Harry, his hand running quickly across Potter's 5 inch worth of manhood, and soon they were both climaxing together, their moans ringing in Severus' head. This really was a strange experience.

The rest of the dream was just Severus and Harry clinging to each other and kissing passionately, and soon Harry's mind went dark as he reached a lower stage of REM.  
Snape knew there was nothing he could do but try to get some sleep where he was, leaning against his own bed on his hands, sitting in a wooden chair, in the cold, until Harry woke up. What he would say to Harry when he finally did was a mystery to him.

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The buzzing of his alarm to get up was so loud that he could feel another headache coming on. Severus' whole body ached and he couldn't figure out why. It took him several seconds to realize that the why was because he had been sleeping sitting up all night.

Quickly he sprang to his feet shutting off his alarm and he stared at his bed, where Harry still lay stirring. The satin blanket slipped off his frame as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and taking in the blurry surroundings. He reached to Severus' nightstand as though in search for his glasses, and it took several slaps of his hand on solid oak to realize they weren't there.

"Oh Shit." Harry muttered under his breath rubbing his eyes again and trying to make out shapes around him.

"I will not have that language in my bed chambers Mister Potter." Snape decided to say silkily to make his presence known. Harry looked around wildly in every direction until he saw the black lump that was his Potions teacher. His eyes widened in fear, and he grabbed at the blanket pooled around him and pulled it upward as though trying to make himself invisible.

"Last night you wandered into my quarters Mister Potter." Snape continued, making sure Potter still knew who was boss. "I kindly ask you to go retrieve your invisibility cloak from my hall and get out of my sight. I don't want an explanation on how you got in here last night, but since it was breaking and entering, 50 points will be taken from Gryffindor."

Harry flapped his mouth open silently and stood up in protest. "50 points? But sir!"

"I suggest you shut up Mister Potter!" Severus replied sternly. "Or I will inquire why you ended up here, and I will give you detention, now get out, and I don't want to see you until class this afternoon."

Harry went slightly pink and quickly hobbled off out of the room after Severus said this. Snape sighed as he watched the boy leave, and smiled to himself. Maybe he will start to be nicer to Harry. Maybe. Nah, he was still a nasty little kid celebrity.

And with that, Snape strolled over to his fire, threw some Floo powder into it, and stuck his head into the now green flames.  
"Dumbledore, I'd like to take my first few classes off to I can finish my 'mission' for Lord Voldemort."

Dumbledore, who just happened to be waiting by his fireside, beamed over his half-moon spectacles knowing what Severus really meant. "Of course Severus, you've earned it."

Severus pulled his head back out of the fire and laid down into his bed, which still smelled of Harry. He breathed in deeply and settled himself into the warm sheets, closing his eyes, and finally getting a well earned rest.


	2. Trust?

**A/n: Damn you all, damn Yooouuu. Lol just kidding. Yeah I meant this to be a one shot... but oh look another chapter. Uhm... Er.. And it's long... Sorry if you don't like long chapters. Oh and it makes it so I have to write a third chaper. Uhm... Oh well!!! Enjoy! Yay. prances around throwing plastic flowers**

**Disclaimer: Don't own a darn thing! Sept the story line perhaps.**

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."

Harry's foot caught on the hem of his invisibility cloak, as he ran through the deserted halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Pale sunlight was now creeping through the tall windows around him, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the castle was stirring. Harry had no desire to watch where he put his feet at that particular moment, nor did he even seem to notice that his invisibility cloak kept slipping off him. All that was on his mind was getting back into bed before Ron woke up so he could attempt to make it look like he had been there the whole time.

He couldn't believe where he had just found himself. It was wrong, it was confusing… How the hell had he gotten there? Snape's angry face still swam in Harry's minds eye. Then suddenly it hit him. Snape had the power of Occlumency. Oh god, what had he dreamed about?

Thoughts ran rampant through Harry's brain that he was shocked he even made it back to the Fat Lady, who was snoring peacefully in her frame. Oh no, he was going to have to wake her up… She always got very snappy with him every time he had to do this.

"Um… Ma'am…" Harry choked out, at a loss of what else he could use to politely wake her up.

The Fat Lady's eyes snapped open and she looked around suspiciously. "Who's there? Show yourself! If it's Peeves, Dumbledore will be hearing about this!"

Harry then remembered that he had donned the invisibility cloak to avoid any awkward questions. He didn't think he could bear any more awkwardness this morning; waking up in Snape's quarters was enough. Quickly he ripped his cloak off, and stared up to the Fat Lady's red face, trying not to look too guilty. "The password is Humming Bird."

The Fat Lady opened her mouth then closed it again as though there was something she wanted to say but then decided against it. Instead she just swung forward to admit Harry, and he suddenly felt very grateful she had not asked any questions.

He took the stairs up to his dormitory two at a time, breathing hard as he went. He couldn't believe his luck- he was able to get into the room without even making a floor board squeak. Harry leapt into bed, and almost the second he laid down, Ron began to wake.

Harry shut his eyes tight and tried to make it sound as though he was snoring. It seemed effective enough; Ron started shaking him violently saying, "C'mon mate, wake up." And with that, Harry thought he was home free, until Ron said, "When did you get back last night? You were sleep-walking again."

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Harry had been able to change Ron's mind set pretty quickly that morning. He simply mentioned a potions essay that was due that afternoon in Snape's class, and Ron instantly went into panic mode. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" He kept repeating all the way to the Great Hall. "I'll never be able to get two rolls of parchment written by this afternoon. Well I guess I could skip Divination, but I actually did my homework for that this time and wanted to pass it in…"

After a while Harry just stopped listening.

His mind was on more important things. He remembered one of his dreams now. Snape had died, and Dumbledore was telling everyone about it. If Snape had read his mind at all while he was there, that wouldn't have been such a bad thing for him to witness… It was kind of ironic even because he had made it quite clear to Snape he wouldn't mind if he was dead.

Harry's thoughts lingered on this so much that he didn't realize until he was on the floor that he had just walked into someone. "Oh Harry, are you alright?"

Harry looked up to see a concerned Ginny looking down. Instantly he felt himself involuntarily blush. "Yeah I'm fine." He managed to mutter. He gripped his hand onto Ginny's which she had offered to help him up with. As he rose, he looked sideways to Ron who was still rambling on about 2 roles of parchment, and hadn't realized Harry had fell. He ended up blushing again when he realized he was still holding onto Ginny's hand rather tightly.

She too was blushing, her hair matching quite nicely with the shade now displayed across her cheeks, and she wrenched her hand back. "Well Dean is waiting for me at the Library. See you Harry."

And with that she was gone again.

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Hermione sat at the Gryffindor tables, her nose buried in yet another dusty book, with the title 'So You're Worried About NEWTS And You're Friends Think You're Crazy.' stamped across the front in gold lettering. Her wand was sticking out from behind her ear at an odd angle, and she was biting her lower lip. As she read, her left hand busied itself with the task of feeding.

" 'lo Hermione," Harry said heavily as he sat down next to her and helped himself to some bacon.

Ron took his place on the other side of Hermione, and stared at her book shaking his head once he read the title. "Who in their right mind reads this early?"

"Me." Hermione replied, throwing a potato cube at Ron absentmindedly. "Shouldn't you be reading too? We have that potions essay due you know."

"Don't remind me of that, Hermione. You'll make me think of Snape, and then his greasiness will make it impossible for me to ever look at food again."

This statement then caused Ron and Hermione to bicker back and forth about Ron's work ethic. Harry cheerfully tuned them out as he sipped his pumpkin juice, and he instead turned his attention over to the staff table. He scanned it slowly, caught Hagrid's eye, who waved at him merrily. Dumbledore was deep in conversation with McGonagall, but there was one person missing. Snape's seat was empty.

Harry turned away from the staff table and was again launched into thought. Snape wasn't one to be absent for things, so why did he start now, the morning in which Harry woke up in his room?

"You yell at me for not sleeping!" Harry half heard Ron say. "Talk to Harry. He's been sleep-walking for the past month now."

Harry instantly got interested in Ron and Hermione's conversation again. He did what now?

Hermione looked concerned at these words, and glanced at Harry, brushing some of her bushy hair out of her eyes. "Is that true Harry? Have you been sleep-walking?"

"Dunno." Harry replied, "Ron wouldn't have said it if it weren't true."

"It is true." Ron glared at Hermione for not believing him. "Usually he just walks around the room and talks to objects… Like the other night he walked up to Neville's bed post and asked it how the weather was…" Then Ron could tell by Hermione and Harry's glares that neither of them found this funny, so he got to the point. "So… so I figured it was harmless. He only started leaving the dormitory last night."

Hermione shook her head at this statement, and looked exasperated at Ron. "Ron, sleep-walking is harmless for normal people, but Harry is different. He could really hurt someone or himself by accident in his sleep."

"What do you mean by normal people?" Harry snapped. "I'm just as normal as you. If you started to sleep-walk-"

"Oh Harry, I just meant, because you might not have been sleep-walking at all." Hermione sighed when all she got from both boys was a confused look and some food falling out of Ron's mouth. "You remember last year don't you? Harry your mind is vulnerable when you're asleep. This 'sleep-walking' could be harmless, or it could be V-Voldemort, oh Ron don't twitch like that, controlling you."

The Trio was silent after that until it was time to go to class. Harry certainly hoped Voldemort wasn't controlling him. He just wished he knew why he was sleep-walking so much in the first place.

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Harry went to Potions class half expecting Snape not to be there, but sure enough as he walked down the stone hall way lit by torches, Snape loomed outside his classroom doorway, watching each of his students walk into class.

As Harry walked by, Snape held up his arm, stopping Harry in his tracks. Snape then glared at Ron and Hermione until they walked into the classroom, each of them shrugging at Harry and casting him puzzled looks.

Harry tried to keep the glare from his face, but he didn't think it was working. Snape leaned close to him, speaking softly into his ear in a dangerously velvet tone. Harry could feel his hot breath spill over his ear and it made him shiver. "Professor Dumbledore has requested I try to teach you Occlumency one last time. I expect you in my office tonight at 8. Use the usual excuse of Remedial Potions if you must. If you don't show up and waste my time Potter, I will find you." Snape paused, and Harry could almost feel his cruel smile. "Or maybe you'll do that part for me again tonight. I don't want you ever wandering into my quarters again do you hear me? Now get into my classroom."

Harry winced as he distanced himself from Snape. He had almost gotten his mind off the fact he had woken up where he had that morning over the natural course of the day. He took a seat in the back of the class as usual, and took out his note taking material.

"What was that about?" Ron whispered to him, while he nudged Hermione.

Harry explained what Snape had said about Occlumency lessons, and the pair of them frowned. "Maybe Dumbledore found out about your sleep-walking somehow?" Hermione questioned.

Harry just shrugged in reply and turned his attention to the front of the class where Snape was now writing notes on the board.

Snape was writing the notes very gracefully, Harry noticed. He shook his head quickly and tried to banish that thought. No, he mustn't think things like that about Snape. But still, the way his hand moved with the chalk and his hair flipped every time he adjusted his place at the board-

Harry then started to realize how tired he felt. His adventures at night must have cost him dearly of a good night's rest. Snape began to lecture them now on the finer points of making some complicated potion, and Harry ended up settling his head on his arm, Snape's deep voice washing over him.

Without meaning to, Harry started to fantasize. He was flying on a broom stick, the air thick and warm around him. He felt at ease and at peace all of a sudden, like nothing else mattered. He did a couple loops around in the sky, flying through a small cloud and laughing as it parted. He was free. He had left the dungeon behind and he was now free.

Below him he spied the Quidditch field, and the stands, which were completely empty except for one person, who was peering up at him, watching his every move. Harry now felt the need to show off; give that one person something to watch. He did more loops, and a few tricky broomstick moves, then he went to go circle around the person below.

Slowly he lowered himself down and saw who had been watching. It was Snape. Then Harry started to feel an emotion that surprised him greatly. He was flattered. He was happy. He flew towards Snape, and hopped off his broomstick so he landed on the bench seat Snape was on. He walked across the seat over to his potions master, pretending to fall a couple times, and smiling at the small gasps that emitted from Snape every time he did so.

When he finally reached Snape, he was hot and sweaty, so he took his shirt off, which seemed to please the older man greatly. "You've been working out." Harry heard him mutter.

"Thanks for noticing." Harry replied, looking over his glasses at Snape as he sat next to him. "Were my flying skills to your liking?"

Snape didn't say anything for a moment, but when he replied, Harry felt his stomach make a funny jolt. He was getting horny. "I know something that would be more to my liking."

It was as if time and space had stopped completely for the odd coupling sitting in the stands. The breeze stopped blowing, and the birds stopped chirping. The sun beamed hot above Harry's head making him dizzy from the heat that seemed to press from all sides. His eyes locked with Snape's, and lingered there as they slowly became closer and closer to one another. Harry felt his head involuntarily tilt as their lips met; the kiss tasted salty from their sweat. The kiss was gentle, and Snape pressed his tongue into Harry's mouth, thrusting it to meet Harry's tongue and massage it.

Harry didn't think he had ever experienced a kiss quite like this one. He could sense the underlying danger of kissing his teacher in broad daylight, though there was no one around. He could feel Snape running his overworked hands over Harry's boyish chest, tracing the faint curve of his muscles which were beginning to develop from so much Quidditch practice. Harry suddenly wanted to take the heavy robes off of Snape so they could be skin against skin…

Snape took his mouth off of Harry's to breathe after a few minutes, but he made use of his mouth elsewhere, capturing Harry's earlobe within his teeth and nibbling gently, causing Harry to moan in ecstasy. Snape's mouth then started to trail light kisses down Harry's moist hairline, and then Snape did something that Harry had never experienced before. He was giving him a Vampire's Kiss.

Snape's mouth was doing something so intense that Harry felt as though he would never breathe again. His teeth were sinking into his jugular, and as they did this, Snape was sucking on Harry's sensitive skin. Harry felt as though his whole body only existed in that one spot and if Snape kept going on he was going to draw blood. Snape shifted his position on Harry's neck, and without meaning to, Harry moaned out 'Severus' from somewhere deep in his throat.

"Yes Mister Potter?" Snape replied, except it wasn't his dream version of Snape saying this, instead it was the real Snape standing in front of him, his arms folded. "And who gave you permission to say my first name? You will only address me as Professor, or sir!"

Harry looked up in horror, hoping he hadn't of really moaned 'Severus' for the whole class to hear. Everyone was staring at the teacher and Harry now, and Harry felt a hot blush form behind his ears. "Sorry, Professor."

"And another thing Potter." Snape continued. "I'm sure the inside of your eye lids are far more interesting then potions that may one day save your life, but I would appreciate it if you at least attempted to look interested." Snape paused for a moment then sneered. "10 points from Gryffindor for sleeping in class should do it."

Snape then turned around and resumed class, as Harry slammed his face into his table. He had lost 60 points for Gryffindor in one day. Could today get any worse?

111111111

Harry finished his supper half past seven, so reluctantly, he said goodbye to Ron and Hermione as they headed back to Gryffindor tower. Ron's offer of looking on the bright side was he reminded Harry that the next day was Saturday, and that they could go to visit Hagrid during the day or something.

Making sure he took his time, Harry walked the usual route to Snape's office, annoyed with himself because he had to do this again. It felt as though he had beaten this path so many times before ever since he started coming to this school, and he wished dearly that Snape would just leave him alone already.

When he arrived at Snape's door, he knocked, and waited to be let in. Snape told him to enter, and as he did so, he averted his eyes to keep the view of Snape's office out of his range of vision. The office was dark as usual, and the room glowed green from the jars that lined the office walls, each incasing some strange magical thing. As always, Dumbledore's pensive sat on Snape's desk, and he loomed over it, his long nose nearly touching the silvery substance contained inside.

"That should do it." He said aloud finally, breaking the silence. "I believe I've gotten rid of every memory I don't want a brat like you seeing." Snape's dark eyes glittered dangerously in the strange light source as he looked upward at Harry sneering. "And no swimming in my memories this time, understand Potter?"

Harry hardly needed to bother to nod. He instead dearly wished he could throw up some obscene hand jester right now, due to the sudden anger that coursed through him. He also felt something else; longing.

"Why can't I ever empty my head of thoughts I don't want _you_ to see, Professor?" Harry heard himself snap, his eyes flaring. He suddenly felt a little startled. He was angry but not that angry… Where was this coming from?

Harry waited for his Professor to reply back as angrily, but instead Harry watched as he raised himself to full height and look at Harry intently, as though studying him. Snape then did something Harry didn't expect. "Sit down for a moment Potter." It was a simple request, and Harry went to go sit at the wooden chair that was placed in front of the desk, but instead it felt as though he was being held back by string.

"I'm quite fine standing thanks." Again there was a sarcastic note and anger behind his statement he hadn't intended. What was going on?

Snape shook his head and pointed his wand at Harry. A purple spell erupted from the tip, and Harry went to dodge it, but Snape shook his head again. "Keep still, Harry. Trust me."

The random longing Harry had felt earlier suddenly peaked when he heard Snape say this. There was something in the tone. He suddenly wanted to throw everything off the oak desk in front of him and throw Snape onto it. Instead he watched as the purple spell turned ribbon-like and wrapped around his head, and pressed to his field of vision. For a moment everything had a purple tint, and suddenly it was gone.

"There. Now, Potter, would you like to sit?"

Harry felt himself give out a sigh of relief when he was able to accept the invite and sit in the chair. He felt in control again. What was all that about anyway?

Snape took a seat on the other side of the desk, still looking at Harry hard, his black hair curtaining around his face. "Let me explain, Harry." He took a deep breath and continued. "For your own best interest, because the Occlumency didn't work last time, Dumbledore had me place several spell-made mental blocks on you to ensure that you had some protection, at least, where I had failed. When you walked in, I placed a charm on the door removing all of them just to see your attitude, and as you experienced, you almost instantly started channeling The Dark Lord's anger, so obviously the mental blocks were a good idea."

Harry stared at Snape, his mouth agape with this information, for a second he felt angry, but then he realized, as much as he hated to admit it, _Snape was right._ He certainly was happy he didn't have to feel that level of anger all the time.

Snape paused as though he was thinking deeply, and then continued speaking. "Today however we're not doing Occlumency. I only said that because I didn't have the time to explain it to you before class. Dumbledore has been informed of your sleep walking, and he's not happy. I personally don't believe your sleep walking is dangerous, but he says he doesn't want you wandering about unaware of what you're doing. So there fore, our focus is finding the reason why you are sleep walking, and stopping it. I'm going to put you in an enchanted sleep, but before you sleep, I'm going to give you Veritaserum, so I can question you when you start to sleep walk. Understand, Mister Potter?"

Blink. That's all Harry could think to do. So much information at once and Snape wanted to put him in an enchanted sleep? Suddenly he felt nervous. He could say anything in his sleep. "Is…Is this really necessary, Sir?" Harry managed to sputter.

"Well we could do it now, or do it later when your mind is a pile of liquid goo." Snape said nastily. "Let's just get this over with. Don't worry I don't care about your silly teenage life. I won't pry." He added this as an after thought as though he had read Harry's mind.

Harry felt himself shake and he had to swallow a few times to get an answer out. "Okay. Yeah, we have to okay. Just do it."

Snape reached across the table and thrust a vial of clear liquid into Harry's hand, which Harry had had the misfortune of seeing a few times before. Twice when Snape was threatening him with it, and when Dumbledore had force-fed it to Barty Crouch Jr. He felt a lump form in his throat as he watched the liquid swish in the bottle innocently, but he knew what it was going to do. Hands still shaking, he uncorked the bottle, and drank the contents in one swig.

His mind almost automatically became foggy, and his eyes droopy. He felt Snape shove another flask to his mouth that was full of warm and slimy liquid and he could feel it slipping down his throat, or at least that's what he thought he thought it was doing. The last thing he heard before his world went black was, "Don't fight it Harry, and just trust me."


	3. What he didn't want to hear

**A/N: Whats this? I was actually able to make it to a 3rd chapter? But I never do that! I must really love you all. ;) Haha, just kidding, I do love you all, but I wanted to write this. Sorry it took so long though, this has been a crazy week- guess what?! I'm pregnant! I'd just thought I'd share. Thanks all who have been reading/reviewing. Thats enough narrative I think. On with the story!**

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Severus always found Sleep-walking to be a curious thing. As a child he had done it, but he would only do mundane things like use the lavatory or get something to eat out of the fridge. He was scolded very harshly by Daddy Snape one morning when he was found asleep with his head in the fridge and the door wide open. Snape absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder, which under all his clothing, hid a long thin burn mark from the hot wire his father had pressed to his skin. He told Dumbledore that the burn had come from a potion that had gone awry in his youth, but he somehow didn't think Dumbledore bought the story.

As expected, Harry did not move right away after given the sleeping potion. So, Severus had to find himself ways to keep amused until Harry decided to start Sleep-walking. Marveling at his own patience, Snape prodded absentmindedly at the Pensive in front of him with his wand. Faces flashed by but only a few actually stopped to do anything. Dumbledore's face leered up at him at one point, face set into a frown, and eyes dark with worry. "The boy is not well, Severus," His voice echoed in the basin. "This Sleep-walking could turn out to be quite dangerous…" Then with a careless flick of a wand, the face was gone again.

Soon after Dumbledore, a mousy haired boy named Colin Creevy appeared, his eyes shining with tears. "Sir, Sir, I didn't mean to- the potion just kind of exploded when I added the porcupine- but it got all over Lee-Anna, and well…. She doesn't look human anymore…."

Severus's face formed a sneer. As the years went by it became more and more evident to him that no one was going to ever respect the art of Potion making as much as he did. The simmer of the cauldron water, and the subtle change in color; he could never understand why it was so difficult for his students to do the most simplest of tasks for him. Perhaps Potion making would die with him.

These thoughts were interrupted by Harry taking in a sharp breath, which forced Severus to focus on the task at hand. Harry had stood up quickly in his sleep and walked straight into Snape's very solid desk. He seemed bewildered that something had stopped him, and he kept pushing on the edge of the desk as though hoping to move it.

This display, though comical in another situation, he was sure, made Severus sigh. Of course; Harry was somewhere unfamiliar; He was going to get easily confused. This display couldn't go on forever however; Harry could harm himself without meaning to, and Severus would be the one to get the blame. So, it was time the interrogation began. "Potter, sit down."

Like an obedient House Elf, Harry instantly did what he was told. He slowly backed away from the desk, and placed his person back into the hard chair he had started in, except this time he was sitting up as though he wasn't asleep. He faced toward Severus, his eyes closed, waiting for further instruction. Severus had to almost mentally slap himself to simmer the sudden glee he felt from seeing Harry do what he was told. For a fleeting moment, a want to make Harry do other things crossed his mind, but he quickly cast these thoughts away and continued with the interview.

"State your name." Best to start with something simple, Severus figured. He had to make sure everything was in order and he wasn't going to get any lies.

When Harry spoke, his voice came out monotone, and almost bored sounding. There was no doubt though that the potion was taking the right effect after his statement was made. "My name is Harry James Potter."

And that was how most of the next half hour went; Severus would ask a simple question, and get a simple, precise answer from Harry. He asked him things like where Harry went to school, and who his friends were. He did this until he was completely satisfied that Harry was enveloped in his trance, and, like many other things he would never admit, he was using this to learn things about Harry.

Severus found ever since he saw Harry's dream about them the night before, it was all he could think about. His loathing for the boy was still there, yes; He still considered Harry an underage full-of-himself Gryffindor who had no concept of the real world. Yet as he gazed upon Harry's relaxed face, he felt a sense of want. Not sexual want, but a want to show Harry what the world was really like. Harry's concept of it was direly skewed, and the fact that he was the object of Harry's delusions, that made it even worse.

He knew it was wrong that every minute that ticked by, the urge to possess the boy in front of him grew ever stronger. Just to taste his forbidden lips just once and show Harry how dirty life and sex really were; the thought itself just sent shivers down Severus's spine. It took him several moments to realize he had not asked anything for a long period of time, and Harry was slowly starting to lose the ability to be attentive as he slipped out of R.E.M. He decided it was finally time to get the big question of the night out of the way.

"Harry." Snape found himself saying the name softly and almost seductively. 'Careful now Severus' he thought. "Harry, why do you Sleep-Walk?"

It was obvious that the potion was struggling to work as Harry became more and more relaxed in the chair, his head lulling back more than before. However the answer that came out was clear, and made Severus's heart instantly ache. "I worry that Severus Snape will die. I Sleep-Walk so I can try to find him and keep him safe."

Severus had an idea that this would have been the answer, but to hear it in words, Snape couldn't believe it. Why in heavens name did the boy worry about him? Then he got an idea. "And why, Harry, do you worry about Severus Snape?"

Harry's voice became almost nothing but a whisper, but tears were forming under his shut eyelids as his body struggled to keep communicating. "Because- Because I…I've…"

And it was as though someone was playing with a light switch on Harry and had switched it to off. Harry's head finally leaned as far back as it could go, and his mouth opened to admit a very loud snore. And Severus- he couldn't believe this- he felt guilty! He had told Potter he wouldn't go prying into his life, and look what he had discovered. The only logical end to the sentence Harry had just started was "-fallen in love with Severus Snape."

Severus knew he had no reason to feel anything for what he found out. Students usually developed crushes on their teachers over time, and little usually came from such feelings. Yet it rubbed him wrong that not only was Harry having a homosexual crush on him, it was also quite obsessive, seeing that he was causing the boy to Sleep-Walk. Severus's old headache started to come back to him, causing him to want a large glass of Brandy in his library so he could forget about all this. At least he could tell Dumbledore not to worry about the Sleep-Walking anymore.

Severus approached his office fire and with his wand lit crackling flames, then threw some Floo Powder in. The flames jumped and became bright emerald green, and Snape stared at them for a moment before he shoved his head into them. The blaze licked every side of his face, and was pleasantly warm, and it only took a moment for Dumbledore's office to come into view.

As he had promised, Dumbledore was waiting by the hearth, his eyes glued to a book about socks, waiting for Snape to appear. He instantly looked at the head in his fire with an amused look, and smiled slightly as he lowered the book onto his lap. "Severus, every time you do that, I will never get over the fact how much you look like a muggle baseball with hair."

Severus stared up at the Head Master, his black eyes glittering. "And every time you say that I will inform you I have never seen a 'baseball' and never will."

Dumbledore beamed down at the Potions master briefly, but then his expression became quite unreadable. "Did you find out why Harry has been Sleep-Walking?"

"Yes." Severus said quickly, "It's nothing to worry about- he just has a crush and is worried about his crush's well being."

Albus looked quite thoughtful for a moment, and then he beamed again. "Ahh, young love. How utterly precious it is Severus. How I miss the days of my youth when I could fall in love with someone new every day of the week. Well if that's all, you can go."

Severus went to pull his head out of the hearth, but realized a predicament he had not thought of until that very moment. "What do I do with the boy?"

Again Albus's face became thoughtful from the question. He shifted the book in his hands, and closed his eyes. "How strong of a sleeping potion have you given him?"

"Pretty strong." Snape replied. "I needed to induce the Sleep-Walking fast. It should wear off in about 3 hours."

"Well then I think it's safe to say your only option is to bring him back to your quarters and instruct him to go back to Gryffindor tower when he wakes up." Dumbledore tipped the book about socks to Severus, and reopened it, ending the conversation. "Goodnight Severus."

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And so, for the second time in 2 days, The-Boy-Who-Lived lay in Severus Snape's bed, and for the second time in two days, that meant Severus could not lie down and get a full nights rest. This time however he did not attempt to sleep with his head on the edge of the bed or anything like that. Instead he placed Harry's dead asleep frame in his bed, and once Harry had curled up in the silk and velvet sheets, Severus strode to his adjoining bathroom, planning to take a shower, then break out a bottle of booze which he would drown himself in until the boy woke up and he could shoo him away.

The shower felt so good on Snape's body. As always he had the water as hot as he could get it without burning himself to death, and he enjoyed as it cast over his body from the shower head, warming him up and relaxing his mussels. He shampooed his hair, and cleaned his privates; and once he was done, the whole bathroom was filled in steam and warmth, so even stepping out of the shower felt good. A little too good- all this comfort was making him horny. He needed alcohol in his system and he needed it now.

When Severus had climbed into the shower, he had abandoned his clothes on the floor, and his wand lay on top of the black mass. He grabbed the wand and flicked it; instantly he became covered in a dark green dressing gown, and groaned as the softness rubbed against him. Damn that child being here tonight. Severus wanted to pleasure himself. But he couldn't risk it with Harry around.

So, Severus serviced himself with the next best thing. He walked into his room, and cast a look over at Harry, who looked very much content where he slept. Harry's hand clutched around one of Severus's favorite pillows, and a smile creped across his face. It was quite a sight. Snape turned away and walked over to a cabinet on the far wall, and tapped his wand against the lock; a chinking noise came from inside the cabinet, and the door opened slowly.

If there was one thing Severus loved about magic, it was the fact you could fit an entire cellar into one cabinet. It took him a minute to climb into the cabinet, but once he did, he landed in a new room, completely grey and darkly lit. Inside there were rows and rows of racks housing every alcohol you could think of. Snape originally went into there looking for Brandy, but now he think he wanted Fire Whiskey instead. He just wanted to get drunk and he wanted to get drunk quick.

Snape muttered to himself as he walked by each rack. He had the racks alphabetized at one point, but from years of use, the bottles had been moved and ransacked. He walked to the far corner of the room, and the deeper he went, the dustier and older the bottles seemed to be. This was where he kept his best wines, and alcohol he didn't dare touch too much. There was a reason he kept Fire Whiskey over here- it was one of the few alcohols that could make his mind go pretty darn quick- and that was what he wanted. He wanted to forget what he learned about Harry this night and just make Saturday come quicker. If Harry woke up and he was drunk, he would probably just run off like he had the night before. Severus was sure this time the shock of being in his Potion Master's bedroom would be less because of what they had done.

When Severus climbed back in his room, he questioned himself why he had bothered to shower at all. He was now dusty, and his back hurt from stooping in his cellar. But clutched in his hand was his prize, and along with his prize was a brand new shot glass that was begging to be used.

Harry slept on soundly and Severus took his seat in the chair next to the bed he hadn't bothered to move. He uncorked the bottle, and smiled slightly as it fizzed from being moved quickly after sitting so long. He poured the alcohol into the shot glass, and downed it all in one swallow, which caused him to cough. He poured himself another after that, and that too he downed. He went to pour himself a third, when to his surprise, Harry stirred.

Harry sat up rather swiftly, but instead of panicking he looked at Severus, then the bottle in his hand, then back to Severus's face. Snape could feel the alcohol affecting him, and his speech came out a bit slurred. "You better leave Potter." Severus placed the bottle and shot glass on the floor and waited for Potter to get up and leave.

Yet Harry didn't move. Instead he bit his lip and made the cutest look Severus had ever seen in his life- but of course that was the alcohol talking. His hornyness became almost unbearable as he stared at the boy, and realized how beautiful he was. Harry had become the sharpest thing in the room, and Severus couldn't take it anymore. He had to have him; right now. 'It's Harry's fault' Severus's drunken-self rationalized within his mind. 'He's not moving when you told him to.'

Without wanting to scare Harry, Severus slipped himself onto the bed and sat. Now he had to wait and see if Harry made a move. If he did, oh Severus knew he wouldn't be able to control himself.

The lamps seemed to flicker more harshly in Snape's cold dark room, and flickering just made Harry's face more appealing. Harry was scooting closer now- yes he was asking for it- there was no turning back. Harry's hand was reaching towards Severus's face… 'Oh Harry I hope you know what you're getting yourself into…' And there was his touch. Harry's thumb was running down Severus's cheek, and ever closer he scooted, his lips puckering into a small pout… yes not long now.

And then it happened- the first kiss. Fairy tails always ended with the first passionate kiss between a prince and his new princess, but it is always so strange because the first kiss is always the beginning of everything- even forbidden things like kissing your Potion student. The kiss was sweet, but Severus wanted more. He wanted to take over Harry, he wanted to invade every part of his mouth, but he knew he had to start him off gently. They kissed and kissed, but Snape felt himself push Harry away. His head gave an unexpected drunken jolt, and the whole world swam before him.

"What's wrong?" Severus heard Harry exclaim, sounding worried. The word wrong echoed in his head, and suddenly he knew he had to run to the bathroom.

As he ran, he felt the booze churn in his stomach, and was dimly aware of lifting the toilet seat as he let everything in his body go. Somewhere above him, he could feel someone holding back his black curtains of hair, and he put his hot face on the cold porcelain, feeling quite embarrassed. The great and all powerful Severus Snape, best known for always keeping his cool and being a figure of authority, had just thrown up from drinking.


	4. Everyone is gay now?

**A/N: Hello once again I grace the world with another chapter. This took so long because I suffered from a bout of writers block and I apologize. Again remember the high rating I have set for this story and again I apologize if you don't like long chapters because I do. Enjoy and review. Oh and thanks for anyone who's reading. You're all amazing.**

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As Harry sat in Hagrid's house the following midday, he thought to himself that his night couldn't have possibly gone more wrong.

The kiss he and Snape had shared last night would have been perfect if it hadn't had been for the million other things that made it wrong. Snape was Harry's teacher; let alone male, and he had spent the last 5 years of his schooling making sure all the hatred in his body was directed at Severus Snape, and Voldemort. So with that in mind, kissing Snape should have been like kissing Voldemort- and yet- it wasn't. But that wasn't the beginning; Harry knew the kiss was alcohol fueled, he could taste it on him and could see the bottle quite clearly on the floor, but either he was a really bad kisser, or Snape really couldn't hold his liquor. His second time kissing had resulting in someone vomiting… and he couldn't decide if it was worse then making the person cry before hand like he did with Cho, or not.

So when Snape drunkenly demanded that Harry leave him alone and go back to his common room, it seemed like the end of all of it, or the beginning, he wasn't sure which. All the way back, Harry's mind raced with all the new doors this opened and he started to feel embarrassed. He was not gay- was he? Or was he just for some strange reason attracted to the man he _still_ blamed for his God Father's death? And if so where did this attraction come from? He'd admit that he was starting to notice subtle things about Snape- the way he moved, and how his mouth curved a certain way when he was pleased…

Harry had checked his watch for the time when he reached the half way mark to the common room, but again remembered it had broken in 4th year and he was still wearing it out of habit. By judging the sky outside however it had to be at least nearing midnight. This meant he didn't want to meet any teachers, because his excuse for being out of bed could not be validated; the teacher he had been with was probably passed out by now. The thought of this gave Harry a strange twang in his stomach. He was glad he didn't have to see Snape like that.

So, as Harry climbed into the portrait hole of Gryffindor house, Harry didn't think anything could make this night any worse, but unfortunately he had been incorrect.

The moment he stepped into the common room, he could hear tiny sobs coming from somewhere. The person hiccoughed and tried to stay silent when they heard Harry come in, however Harry could tell they were hiding behind one of the over-stuffed chairs by the fire. So, disregarding his feeling not to pry, he went to investigate.

Ginny was curled up behind the chair, her eyes red and puffy and her red hair in a messy pony tail. She had her legs drawn up to her chest and she looked as though she was making herself as small as possible. When she looked up and saw Harry looking down, she instantly sprang to her feet, making a little squeal as she did. "Oh, hi… Harry." She said this sounding like she had a rather bad head cold. She quickly wiped her eyes and stepped out from behind the chair as though people normally sat stuffed in a cold corner of the common room bawling their eyes out. "What are you doing up so late?"

Harry had just stared at her and wondered if he should question or not, and he decided he should. "Er… Ginny… Why were you crying?"

"What…? Oh! I um…" Ginny seemed to be searching for some lame excuse without avail. "My Pygmy Puff… Arnold… died." Ginny almost said it convincing, but failed when out of her pocket bounced the fluffy puff ball to investigate why his name was said by his owner, or perhaps just looking for a treat.

Harry looked at her and sighed. "Nice try, but how bout telling the truth?"

Ginny looked stricken for a moment, then sighed as well, and sat down on the love seat in the middle of the room, and gestured for Harry to sit as well.

"Dean broke up with me for Lavender Brown." Ginny paused so she could sniff loudly, and then continued. "He told me that they had gone to a date together to Madam Puddifoot's, and they ended up snogging, and he likes her better."

Harry was horror struck- what was he suppose to say? Boys weren't wired to respond to this sort of stuff, as Hermione had repeatedly, and painfully, pointed out. Patting on the back didn't work either; he had learned that with Cho. So, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "So then… why don't you get a new boyfriend?"

Ginny stared at him for a moment as though she was about to laugh, but then her face screwed up, and she began to cry harder than any girl Harry had ever seen. "Oh yes I'll just go throw myself at another boy and get hurt like I always do!" She rose and Harry couldn't help but wish he could sink evermore into the couch when he saw her march off her voice screaming out shrilly. "Goodnight Harry thanks for the lovely chat. " She then ran up the girl's staircase and after a few seconds, Harry heard Ginny's door slam.

"Ron was right!" Harry had shouted after her. "Girls really are mental!"

So that next morning as he sat staring at his cup of tea as it slowly became cold, he couldn't figure out what he had possibly done to deserve this. It seemed everything was fine until everyone started to make a big deal out of Harry wandering around once in a blue moon making a fool out of himself.

His train of thought was broken when Hagrid turned to Harry and said loudly, "Is it true Harry, are you really sleep walking?"

Without meaning to, Harry bit back angrily. "How many times do I have to say it? Why do people keep asking if it's true? Should I put a giant poster board in the common room saying; 'this just in the Boy-who-lived was mental last year, but this year he's wandering around in his sleep. Proceed to annoyingly ask him if it's true or not!' Honestly."

Harry heard a half snicker admit from Ron, which was quickly suppressed when Hermione glared at him. She then looked across to Harry who was sitting on the other side of the scrubbed wooden table and looked almost pitying. "I know you hate it when we are pestering Harry, but we're just trying to help. By the way, how did your Occlumency lesson go?"

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Harry regretted his abrupt leave and the angry look on Hermione's face as he made some excuse about needing a hat, but he couldn't bare recount what had happened the night before; not when he hadn't even accepted it yet. Harry walked back into the castle and began wandering around with no set place to go; just knowing he wanted to avoid whoever possible.

He ended up on the seventh floor near where the Tapestry of Barnabas Barmy right next to the Room Of Requirement. It was then Harry got a crazy and wild idea- he needed to find Seamus.

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Seamus Finnigan had come out of the closet last year during Umbridge's terrible rein when he came to the common room late one night with the back of his hand bleeding and shining with the words "Other men are not attractive." He had said he wished people hadn't had to find out this way, but they had all felt sympathy for him due to the nature of his exposure.

What Harry wanted- no needed- to find out first of all was if he was… well… that way. And who better to ask? Harry knew Seamus would be in the library because he had mentioned needing to catch up on a weeks worth of homework in one day, so he headed there as fast as his legs could carry.

When Harry got there he found Seamus sitting secluded in the back at one of the most weathered tables in the whole Library. The table had the initials of thousands of bored Hogwarts students from over the years carved into the wood, and was put back here in hopes no one else would abuse the table. Instead more people added to the history, and Harry had once found 'S.B., J.P., P.P., R.L.' carved into one side, almost certain this was from his father. So he was quite fond of the table.

Seamus was reading a book about snakes which was probably for Muggle Studies; Hermione had told them that they were doing Muggle animals commonly found in zoos this week. He looked rather bored and silly as he had his tie around his forehead and he was chewing on the end of his wand. He didn't even notice Harry until he cleared his throat and took a seat at the table.

"Hiya Harry." Seamus said brightly, as though happy for an excuse to put the book in his hands down. "What's up?"

Harry felt himself suddenly get very nervous. Ten minutes ago, his idea had felt brilliant, but now that he was there sitting in front of Seamus, he began to second guess himself. How could he ever ask anything without making a total fool out of himself? He realized he was being silent too long when Seamus cast him a slightly worried look, so he mustered up his courage and just asked. What did he have to lose?

"Seamus…" Harry began. "How did you, y'know… find out that you were well…" Harry knew he was making himself seem stupid as he searched for the right words, but he was relieved when Seamus finished his sentence for him.

"How'd I find out I was gay you mean?" Seamus smirked at Harry and looked as though he was going to burst out laughing. "I dunno…. I just knew I guess."

Harry felt his heart sank, and he suddenly became very interested in the old blue carpet under his feet. Maybe Seamus couldn't help him after all. "So there's no set way of knowing?"

Seamus didn't say anything for a moment. Instead he just ran his hands through his sandy hair, and closed his eyes in thought. "Well…And I don't know if this is true for all men… but I noticed that when everyone else was becoming interested in girls, instead I found… the male anatomy… sexier. If that makes sense."

Harry looked up suddenly feeling relieved. "So if I found a particular…" Harry had to pause. He didn't want Seamus to guess he had even kissed a male. He had to word this right. "If I found a particular male a little attractive… but still preferred females, does that mean I'm not gay?"

He had expected Seamus to agree, but instead he placed his book on top of the book-return tray by his arm and looked at Harry very seriously. "That's the funny thing about Sexuality Harry. You could just be feeling curious, or it may mean you're suppressing some real feelings. The only way you can really know is experiment."

Alarming thoughts erupted in Harry's mind. Experiment? With who? And what kind of experimenting? Did that mean he had to kiss another boy? What if he liked it? What if… oh god.

A sheepish look overcame Seamus' features as though he could tell that Harry was having a major internal struggle. He bit his lip in consideration for a moment, and then began speaking again. "If you'd like… Well… I could help you out a little."

"Help out? How?" Harry now became painfully aware that he was blushing, and fingering the corner of the table both Seamus and he sat frantically. He was suddenly very glad he and Seamus were secluded so deep in the catacombs of the library; if someone had caught him in the middle of this type of conversation, he didn't know what he'd do.

"Well…" Seamus' voice trailed as he stood up and swooped down on the unsuspecting Harry, grabbing the back of the other boys head in a death grip. He then clamped his mouth onto Harry's and gave Harry kiss that was so wet it rivaled with Cho's leaky faucet. Harry didn't respond at all, and right when he was about to, Seamus pulled his mouth off of Harry's, who stared down at him grinning.

"So how did that feel Potter?"

Harry, who was dumbstruck for words, stared open mouthed at Seamus, half reaching up to readjust his glasses which had been nearly knocked off by the aggression of the kiss. That definitely wasn't like the kiss he and Snape had shared. Nor did he enjoy it. "It was… a kiss. I didn't feel anything."

Seamus smiled a little then cracked his knuckles as he sat back down in his seat. "I don't think you have to worry about being gay then Harry."

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The rest of the day seemed to drag on endlessly. Harry had gone to supper sometime after speaking a bit more with Seamus feeling quite confident that he was nothing but straight, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of his head that he still had an exceptional feeling for Snape however, considering his encounter with Snape had been much more passionate and less…well… wet.

At dinner, Hermione and Ginny sat together, each equally determined not to look at Harry, but Harry tried not to get too offended by this. After the past couple days, the only thing he that could shock him any further would be Ron running into the Great Hall stark naked.

Harry placed his person on the far end of the table where no one was really sitting, and he grabbed himself a couple biscuits to munch on, not feeling particularly hungry. For a while, he could not shake the feeling he was being watched. The answer on where it was coming from came when he looked up at the staff table out of the corner of his eyes and saw Snape staring at him in deep reflection. A large purple bruise lined itself down Snape's cheek, and it looked quite new.

Harry tried to keep his mind off where the bruise could have come from and tried to keep his eyes on the food plates in front of him which were magically wiping clean and being replaced with mounds of jelly and puddings. As none of these deserts appealed to him at that particular moment, he decided to just get up and go back up to Gryffindor Tower. It didn't even cross his mind that Ron hadn't joined him .

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As Harry walked into the empty common room, he felt as though he was being weighed down. Every bad thing that could possibly happen happened in the past few days. With Sunday looming its ugly head he couldn't help but wonder what new horrors the new day would bring. However, unfortunately for him, the day still happened to be Saturday, and there were still 5 fun filled hours to be had on this day.

Harry climbed the stairs to his dorm room slowly, watching each dark wood step as he placed his foot down, wondering why he had all the luck in the world to be stuck with what he had been given, basically since birth. He had press coverage he never wanted, no real family, a mortal enemy he had to kill one day… and if that wasn't bad enough he had the life of every other confused teenager.

Reaching his hand out to open the dorm room, he was surprised to find that it was locked. Harry stared at the door knob as though he was expecting that he was just mistaken, so again he tried to turn the door knob, and again failed. 'Great'. Harry thought to himself. 'This trick was probably intended for Neville or something.'

So, Harry did what any magical person desperate to climb into bed would do. He pulled out his wand and waved it at the door knob muttering 'Alohamora' and smiled when he heard a click. He opened the door, expecting to flop into bed and forget he existed for a little while, but instead he heard someone say "Shit! I thought you locked the door!" And then an "I did! As I came in!" Then a bunch of scrambling.  
Coming rushing toward the door was Seamus dressed in nothing but his boxers, with yet another embarrassed grin on his face. He clutched in his hands a bunch of clothes and robes, but he stopped when he saw who was at the door. "Oh don't worry it's just Harry."

Harry compared the way Seamus said this as someone who was expecting to cops then saying "Oh it's just the mail man." Seamus turned around after he cast Harry a little glance, and Harry followed him in.

The room was dark, the curtains all closed, and the room was stiflingly warm. Harry had no idea who was in the room with them, but he was guessing it was Seamus' latest boyfriend. So without much thought, he walked to his bed, taking his shoes and socks off as he went, and sat down.

"You don't mind if we keep fooling around do you Harry?" Seamus inquired, his eyebrows disappearing in the shadows of his face.

"Nah go for it." Harry sat back on his bed. He was use to Seamus bringing back his boyfriends by now. He watched as Seamus headed back towards his side of the room, and figured that he would head towards his bed, which had the hangings closed, but to Harry's surprise, Seamus headed to Ron's closed hangings instead. Seamus pulled them back and Ron shot up completely naked and stared over at Harry his eyes wide. "Oh Harry, oh what are you doing here…? Um…"

"Don't worry about it," Seamus said. "Harry says he has no problem, right Harry?"

Harry who was trying to show he was not distracted by the fact Ron was letting everything hang out, coughed out a quick reply of "its fine" realizing he sounded rather squeaky.

Seamus beamed and then said "There now… See Ron? It's alright… Now where were we…?" Seamus then approached Ron, placing one of his hands on a freckled leg and supporting himself with the other. He then proceeded to kiss Ron, pushing him back into his bed as Ron closed the hangings.

Harry still stared, mouth agape to what had just happened. Thinking Ron would turn up naked was a joke. A JOKE! Was everyone around him turning Gay now? It seemed like it! Even his best friend….

There was nothing Harry could do now but turn around on his bed and lay down with his hangings closed and try his best to block out the muffled groans and pleasured moans so close to him.

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Harry didn't leave his bed much on Sunday except to eat, so when Monday rolled around, he was achy from doing nothing but sleeping for a whole day. By Monday he had spent 2 days not talking to Hermione or Ginny, and one not talking to Ron. Ginny was a lost cause at this point due to his thick headedness, and as for Hermione, she seemed to have taken Ginny's side this time.

As for Ron, they had both taken the approach of avoiding each other since the awkward encounter in the dorm room. Harry didn't really mind that Ron was gay of course; He just didn't understand why Ron had never talked about it or at least given him some warning before he ended up walking in on a naked Ron and Seamus.

Harry basically thought of nothing else all day, all thoughts of Snape finally pushed out of his mind, and it didn't occur to him until half way though potions that he was acting strange.

"Potter!" Harry felt himself snap out of the stupor he had been riding all day as Snape loomed over his cauldron with a glare on his face. The purple bruise on his face glowed eerily in the otherwise dark room being lit by all the cauldrons. "You call this… Concoction a potion?" Snape waved his hand over the soup in front of him in disgust, and Harry could see why. His cauldron wasn't leaking a smoke; instead it was leaking a gas which was filling the whole room and was seeping around everyone's ankles. The potion itself was an angry red, basically reflecting how Harry felt inside, and was sparking over the surface. In Harry's hand was a bottle of lion hairs which he was just about to add to the courage potion he was attempting to make, but he was almost glad Snape had stopped him. "Potter, if you had put these lion hairs into the potion, do you know what would have happened?"

Somewhere in the back of the classroom, Harry heard a snicker admit from one of the Slytherins, but Harry didn't find this very funny. Snape actually looked concerned! And the purple bruise on his face made him look very dangerous.

Harry didn't know how to answer Snape's question but he muttered out a quick, "I don't know, Sir." Knowing he'd get an answer anyway.

"If you had added the lion hair, you could have most certainly kissed goodbye to both the classmates next to you," Snape cast a quick look at Hermione and then one at Neville. "Because you would have blown yourself and both these two people up and left a sizeable crater. Not even Longbottom has managed to screw up this bad. His potion could actually be used for something."

Neville squealed from the near compliment and dropped whatever it was in his hand into his cauldron, which from the depths emitted a small "Puh" and the potion began to rise like dough.

Snape however took no notice, and was waiting until Harry had safely placed the hairs away from his cauldron, and with a wave of his wand, Harry's potion was gone. "I will not tolerate such carelessness in my classroom! Potter, as much as I hate to be in the company of a… Draco what phrase am I looking for?" Snape looked over to the blonde Slytherin, who nearly drooled at the opportunity to make fun of Harry.

"Incompetent fool, sir?" Draco said eagerly.

Snape looked back at Harry and continued, his hands gripping the edge of Harry's table in fury. "As much as I hate to be in the company of an incompetent student like the likes of you, I am awarding you a week's worth of deten…"

"A WEEK?" Harry yelled angrily. "For making a mistake!?"

"For that it'll be two weeks. Of detention." Maybe within those two weeks I can teach you responsibility!"

With that, Snape swooped to the front of the classroom and spat out instructions for everyone to hurry up and work because the class was almost over, and Harry could have sworn Snape looked back at him with a look of mixed emotions on his face.


	5. The Mission

_**Hello everyone! A year later and I return with chapter five of this story. Don't have much else to say except to enjoy. I don't own anything...**_

"_Mr. Potter-_

_I expect you at my classroom, Tuesday evening at 8 O'clock sharp for the first day of your two weeks detention. I will not tolerate lateness. If you are not there promptly, further disciplinary actions will be discussed with your head of house, Professor McGonagall._

_ Professor Snape, Potions Master."_

He rolled the note up as he would normally, and yet he knew in his heart this was no ordinary note. Once again fate was putting Severus Snape together with the Boy Who Lived, though Severus had to admit to himself that in a way he didn't mind- and of course the situation itself could not be avoided. It was almost insulting how careless Potter could be.

Severus rose from his desk, now taking in the sight of his empty classroom. Usually this would have been when he would take inventory, but he just couldn't make himself work anymore. He was tired- and the memories of the night before plagued him, to the point where he felt physically ill. Severus prided himself in the fact that he had self control to the level no one else he knew had, and what happened the night before was a mockery of everything he had worked so hard to construe into his reputation.

However, the kiss Severus had shared with Harry opened a new wave confusion, because Severus had never experienced something so desperate yet satisfying at the same time. Perhaps it was the danger in the kiss that made it so different, because Severus had never experienced anything like this before. And yet... yet... all the things wrong with what had happened kept coming back to Severus' mind, and he felt his brain nearly ache from the weight of all the thoughts he had.

What would have Lily thought, if she knew 17 years after her death, a much older Severus was now obsessing over her son? She would have found it sick... but she wasn't alive, and there was no one stopping him- except perhaps morals, laws, and fact Severus felt like he was ruining Harry. Both he and Harry were in different walks of life, so unlike each other in every way... but the mental image of Harry looking up at him with half closed eyes, wanting him- needing him- stuck in his minds eye.

Severus couldn't take it anymore- he had to go to bed. For the first time in his life, or at least Severus could remember, he left his classroom, not even bothering to check that everything was in it's place. For some reason, tonight, it just didn't matter.

As Severus walked back to his quarters, his mind wandered back to when he was a boy. In school he had two plain Jane girlfriends, one named Heather, and the other Marci. They were both in Slytherin, and would have probably gone out with the Giant Squid if asked, but Severus had his fair share of romance with both of them. Severus had also dated a boy- his name had been Markus. He was on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, a Beater, and Severus dated him for quite a long time, though no one knew about it. But, as fate would have it, as soon as they got very intimate, the boy ended up dead over the summer holidays. Severus was never able to get a straight answer out of anyone how it happened, but sometimes it still bothered him that he never found out how Markus had died.

All the same, Severus' relationship with Markus had been much more involved then any relationship he had with a woman. There was just something about a man's body that was more attractive. There was the obvious changes from a woman yes- the way a male smells, moves, and what have you- but there was something more. The possession, the mutual trust, and most importantly, the familiarity, made Severus feel so much comfortable with a male counterpart than a female. It had always been that way, but even so, Severus' expectations were far too high that he never really met anyone that fit the bill after Markus' death, except for Lilly, and that never amounted to anything. Though the more Severus thought about it, the more he realized there were certain traits in Harry that Markus had, the same dark hair, the same build from being a Quidditch player, and even the same mischievous smile. Add that to the traits Harry had inherited from his mother, and it became clear to Severus that Potter seemed to be a sort of Kryptonite almost.

Once back to his rooms, Severus waved his wand at himself, instantly transfiguring his clothes into a dressing gown, and he sat down on his bed, his eyes drooping considerably. 'I don't have anything left in me for today.' He thought to himself, as he laid down. He stared at his wand on the side table for a few moments, and without much effort, he fell asleep.

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"HARRY! Harry wake up!"

A pair of hands roughly pulled Harry upright, and were shaking him. Like a rag doll his head rolled back and it took him a moment to realize what was going on- Ron's pale face loomed in front of Harry's eyes. "Harry, can you hear me?"

"What... yes, I can Ron, please stop shaking me." Harry finally managed to choke out. His face throbbed and instantly he figured out what was going on. Behind Ron Harry's trunk stood, the lid thrown open. Papers were scattered around it, most looking as though they were put through a shredder. As Harry looked down at his hands, he realized they were covered in paper cuts, and could just imagine how his face looked.

"Blimey." Seamus called out from the corner of the room. He was pulling on his robes and watching Ron and Harry in front of him "So this is what I miss when I sleep."

Ron backed away from Harry as though he had been burned. "I think... I'm going to go see if Hermione is still awake." As Ron said this he grabbed his under-shirt from Seamus's bed and glanced at Seamus, who began to jitter out an excuse to come with Ron. The two stared at Harry as they backed out of the dorm, each wearing the same look of terror.

Harry groaned. Great. His friends thought he was a total nut case. He reached his hand up to his face and ran his finger over a rather deep cut on his cheek, and he winced a bit. What in the world had he been looking for in his sleep? It must have been important...

Harry yelped as a sudden burst of pain shot through his scar on his forehead, but as soon as he felt the pain, it was gone again. This was nothing new, Harry had felt like this more times than should be aloud over the years, but Hermione's voice whispered to him in the back of his mind. _"It could be Voldemort controlling you."_

As soon as the thought entered his head however, he launched himself onto his trunk once more; of course! It was the Marauder's Map he was looking for. Severus...

He rummaged through his trunk until he found a blank piece of parchment, and he tapped it with his wand saying quickly under his breath, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." In the bed near him, Neville mumbled in his sleep, and he waited to see if he would wake, but he did not. Harry watched as writing blossomed from his wand tip and soon a very detailed map spread its self across the parchment. Quickly he shifted through it, muttering under his breath. "Come on... come on... his room... I have to find his room."

It took several moments for Harry to locate Snape, but when he did, he let out a sigh of relief. His dot was hovering over a bed, safe and sound. Yet, the fact his scar had throbbed, nagged at Harry. Something wasn't right, and Harry had to get to Snape- but could he do it? Every other time he had ended up there by pure luck. Harry placed the map in his pocket, his mind racing. He only had one choice.

Quietly, as not not wake up anyone else tonight, Harry slipped his invisibility cloak over himself, then quickly let himself out of the dorm, deciding his best bet was to just go with the flow. As he walked down the stairs, he saw Hermione and Ginny sitting white faced on the couch, talking to Ron, who was muttering to them about how something needed to be done for Harry before he did anything stupid. Resisting the urge to go kick Ron hard in the shin, Harry ran past. Ginny's whispers to Ron echoed against the walls, and Harry tried to ignore their conversation as he snuck out of the portrait hole.

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The Castle was quiet and heavy with the feeling of sleep. Shadows danced outside each window as Harry whisked by, but they were the only thing he really met on his journey. No ghosts interrupted him or Peeves- Harry almost felt like he could have taken his cloak off but he didn't dare.

Finding the door to Snape's room was no problem for Harry due to The Map helping him, but once he got there, he just didn't know what to do next. The wooden door to the inside stood stationary in front of him, with no doorknob or decoration. The floor was cold under Harry's feet as he paced, still invisible, in front of his barrier. After a while he realized there was no choice but to discard his cloak, and hope that something would happen.

He looked down at the map, and saw the tiny dot labeled "Harry potter" reach out a wand and tap three times on the middle of the door. He took out his wand and mimicked what he saw, and at first it seemed like nothing was going to happen, but almost instantly the effect became obvious. This awoke the alarm system to the door. The velvet tone of Snape's voice whispered into Harry's ear, and he could feel his body quiver. Of course. The point was the voice was suppose to intimidate him until he turned around and went back. Harry would not let it succeed._ 'You do not belong here'_ The voice said._ 'Return from where you came.'_

Harry protested with the voice. 'No! I must get inside,' he thought. However the voice persisted. _ 'I am naught but a manifestation of your own wrong doing. Leave.'_

Harry spent at least ten minutes fighting the voice, before what it said changed. Soon it was agreeing what Harry thought instead of fighting him, and soon it said what Harry was hoping it'd say._ 'You may enter.'_

Without thinking, Harry stepped through the solid door and instead of colliding with it, he slipped right through the wood, and into the dark hallway behind it. He took a left, holding his breath, knowing what he was doing wasn't wise, and thinking of how much trouble he was going to get into, but every time he thought this, he thought again of the stab of pain he felt in his scar. Voldemort was up to something, and it involved Severus...

As soon as he got inside the dark bedroom, Harry's insides squirmed. Darkness pressed to him, but as clear as day, his Professor laid before him, asleep and unmoving, yet also the most sexiest thing Harry had ever seen. Even in his sleep Snape showed a certain quality Harry had never seen in anyone else. Stepping forward, Harry began to drink in the man's features, from the way Snape's eyes closed, to the way the blanket wrinkled just so at his chest as he breathed. Harry reached his hand out, wondering if he dared to touch, and before he knew it, his hand came in contact with skin. Slowly he placed the palm on Snape's cheek, feeling the rough bristles of his unshaven face.

Almost straight away, Severus' eyes snapped open, and instead of attacking like Harry was expecting, Severus looked as though he were staring up at a dream. His dark eyes sparkled in the lone candle light coming from the side table, and he rose to sitting position so fluidly, he could have been water. Severus' hands rose to cup Harry's face, eyes still fascinated, and he spoke in a near whisper, yet Harry understood every word. "I am dreaming."

"No..." Harry replied, barely able to breathe. The pressure around his face was welcomed, and yet so unexpected, and Harry felt he was going to faint. Pain bubbled from his fresh cuts on his face, and yet at that moment, it just didn't matter. "I'm really here."

Severus stared and looked as though he was about to say something, when two things happened so fast that Harry had all the wind knocked out of him. Severus threw Harry underneath the bed, and out of the fireplace came a brilliant flash of green light and there was a sound of someone heavily falling onto the hearth.

Somewhere above him, Harry heard Severus yell out, "Yaxley?"

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Yaxley was tall, and the sudden landing into Severus' bedroom seemed to have shocked his system. He stumbled to and fro, looking slightly drunk for a moment or so, and then he looked over at Severus, who was still sitting in bed, trying to process what had just been dumped into his presence.

Ash scattered off the hem of Yaxley's cloak, which looked as though someone had grabbed hold of it and ripped it quite forcefully, but his face looked as though Christmas had come early, and that Santa was pelting people with something really expensive.

"The Dark Lord requires you to come to him immediately." Yaxley finally stammered out, his footing becoming more elegant.

Snape stared at Yaxley for a moment as if he was completely appalled at what he was seeing, and half of him thought he was still dreaming, what with Potter suddenly manifesting before him, and now Yaxley, but he could hear Harry breathing under the bed, and he knew this was no dream. Instead of replying, he got up and grabbed his wand, and pointed it at the much bigger man in front of him, and yanked himself a fistful of hair.

"Explain Yaxley! I don't care for being disturbed in my sleep. How did you get here? Hogwarts is impenetrable." Severus thought to himself for a moment and then continued, "Who did the Dark Lord make my servant over the summer holidays?" He had to make sure that he wasn't dealing with someone from the ministry under Polyjuce potion.

"W-W-Worm Tail was your servant." Yaxley choked out, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed. "I broke into a part of the ministry where there were unrestricted Floo channels so I could get here. Severus just let me go, you'll be just as pleased as me."

Satisfied, Severus threw Yaxley out of his grasp, but instead of questioning more, he did a complicated wave with his wand and his dressing gown was quickly replaced with dark green robes. Once he was satisfied, he looked back at Yaxley, and spoke to him as if he was trying to sound as though his time was being wasted. "What is it then?"

"Snape, The Dark Lord caught... well I can't explain, you'll have to see."

Severus glanced at Yaxley rather sternly, and stepped forward towards the fire place. "Where is the Dark Lord?"

Yaxley grinned at the question, as he grabbed Floo Powder from the Fireplace stand. "At Malfoy Mannor."

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Severus wrapped his traveling cloak close to him as he spun past the many fire places, waiting for the Malfoy manor's to appear, working on keeping his mind clear of emotion. He feared now that this would not end well- Dumbledore didn't know where he was going, or how long he'd be away, which was a quarter stone to keeping their agenda under cover. And Harry...

He landed gracefully onto the white polar bear skinned carpet in front of the mantle, dusting his shoulders off as he went, the smell of soot strong around him. The fire place he had just left brought him to a brightly lit living room, where Voldemort sat on a plush sofa that was in the shape of a swan. On one end of the couch, the carved swan head rose gracefully towards the ceiling, swaying this way and that, as if it were alive. The tail of the swan fanned out so it covered much of the room, and Severus wondered to himself why anyone would possibly want a couch like that.

Voldemort did not look silly sitting on this couch however, as one might imagine. His face, flat and glaring, seemed to kill the warm happy glow the room probably usually had, and the hooded figures of two other Death Eaters were sitting on each side of him, each twitching as though the life was being sucked out of them from the sheer horror or where they were.

Across from the couch there was a love seat which was shaped like a swan also, but not nearly as extravagant. Sitting on it was of course the owners of the house, Lucius and Narcissa, each of them looking nauseated with what was going on, and were holding each others hands to the point their knuckles had turned white from how hard they were grasping.

Voldemort nodded towards to Severus and rose, his robes sweeping across the floor, the shine of which seemed to obligately dim once he stepped onto it. "Come with me, Severus." His voice was cold, and to a normal person would make them feel as though a ice cube had just been slipped down the back of their shirt, but Severus however just bowed his head then strolled forward, following Voldemort out of the living room, and into the hall.

He expected Voldemort to take a sharp turn towards the basement, but instead he walked down the darkened hallway to a door with a large marble plaque, on which the words "Master Draco Malfoy" were engraved. The door itself was quite plain, but the doorknob looked to be solid gold.

They entered the room. It was larger than Severus had expected, but it was obvious that this room belonged to the blond Slytherin sitting in front of him. The house crest littered the walls, along with pictures of various Witches in different states of undress. One of the posters near Severus kept winking at him, holding a broom stick in front of her, and tossing her long hair back.

"I had the liberty of having Draco sent here tonight so he could have a lesson on how we work." Voldemort explained. Severus felt quite sure that he wouldn't have explained this fact to any other Death Eater, seeing as he deemed the rest of them 'beneath' him. When you were a Death Eater you learned never to question what the Dark Lord told you.

Draco sat upon the bed, his eyes down, and his head hanging. On his lank arm the Mark stood out on his pale skin, and he was running his finger around the shape of it over and over, a look of sickness over taking his features. It took Severus a few moments to realize that someone else was in the room with them. On the wall hung the unconscious, and badly bruised body of Molly.

Severus had to admit to himself sometime later he didn't understand why the fact the Death Eaters now had Molly Weasley was such a 'good' thing, but once he thought it over, it made sense. All the Weasley children were too well protected for any of the Death Eaters to get to them but if their mother was attacked... It was well known that Ronald Weasley was Potter's best friend, so wherever he went, Potter was sure to go, so if Ron came looking for his mother, there was a good chance that Potter would be fighting by his side, and even if he wasn't, if Ron was captured too, Potter would eventually show. It was a near perfect trap.

"Before I sent Yaxley to get you," Voldemort went on. "I was teaching dear Draco here..." Voldemort walked forward, to the trembling boy on the bed, and put his long pointed finger under his chin, guiding his face upward so he was forced to look into the dark red slits for eyes above him. The display would have been affectionate if it had been anyone else, but this was beyond disturbing. His pause seemed to go on forever before he finished his sentience. "...How to deal with hostages."

Severus looked at Molly again and saw that her hair appeared to have been repeatedly lit on fire, then doused again. The shackles that tied her to the wall were making her flesh darken and indent on both her wrists, and her legs dangled helplessly below her.

"And she's still alive my Lord?" Severus asked finally.

"Very much. " Voldemort sounded almost amused by the question. "I'm sure by now she wishes she were dead though. However she's not the reason I had you come tonight. I just told Yaxley that was it because its not any of his business why I need you."

Draco's mouth was quivering now, as the hand under his chin reached up to grab his whole jaw, and pulled his face forward. "I want Draco to learn a lesson. The same one I taught you Severus, when you first came to me to prove yourself."

Eyes widening, Draco let out a near frightened squeal and Voldemort looked angry for a moment. "He is still too weak." Voldemort wrenched his hand away from Draco's face as if he was too repulsed to keep holding on, and Draco automatically recoiled. "You need to toughen him up, because I have a mission for him."

Severus remained quiet for a moment, and then he spoke slowly, knowing that the Dark Lord would not appreciate being asked to share his plans. "And what mission would that be my Lord?"

Voldemort turned slowly and looked upon Severus' face with a little smirk forming on his dry lips. "Why to assassinate the Minister of Magic of course."


	6. Now a Monster

**This chapter is once again one of the reasons this story has a high rating. Be warned.**

**Enjoy.**

Harry paced back and forth his eyes darting to every single inch of Severus' room. He had even memorized how many wrinkles there were in the blanket on the bed (63) and he knew how many steps it took to circle the room. He watched the Grandfather Clock on the far wall tick by hour after hour, until it finally read that it was time for breakfast, yet still Harry paced. Soon he became very aware of how he was sill wearing pajamas, and that class was in 20 minutes, but it pained him to think he had to leave- especially when he didn't know what was going on.

Harry had thought to follow Severus to the Malfoy Manner, the idea crossed his mind repeatedly and he even went as far as to grab some Floo powder and throw it into the fire- and yet he knew if he had, he would have been just causing more trouble for Severus to deal with. The fact Harry even thought of this felt out of character because he was usually the one to charge head first into everything without looking. Yet the strong sense of weakness and helplessness hurt his heart, knowing at that moment, there was nothing he could do.

Reluctantly, Harry left the room and wandered back to his deserted dorm, quickly pulled on a pair of robes, and stashed his map into the pocket of his Jeans so he could check it later on. As he walked to Charms, several people waved to him, and he even got a few "hi' ya Harry,"s. All he could do to all the greetings however was wave weakly. His mind wandered and his thoughts raced. Was Severus hurt? Was he wrong not to follow? Was there anything he could do now?

As he entered the classroom, Harry found Hermione quickly and sat next to her, and right away he noticed that Ron wasn't there. Before he could ask about it, Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. "Ron's mother is missing." She whispered into his ear. Harry cast her a look of alarm, but he shushed him. "When I ask to use the loo, eat a puking pasty and get out of class."

She shoved two round sweets into his hand and looked around to make sure no one noticed what she had done. Harry looked down at his hand and examined the orange candy and the purple one. He had seen these before- Fred and George had been developing them ages ago. How much he trusted something Fred and George made remained to be seen, but he trusted Hermione, and would do what he was told.

Professor Flitwick walked into the room, and cleared his throat as he stood up on his usual chair so he could see the whole class. "Today, you will begin reviewing everything important for your N.E.W.T.'s. I want you all to start by reviewing the usefulness of a well placed summoning charm. By now all of you can Accio rather large objects, so I want you all to try_ distance_ rather than size..."

And on he went, explaining the importance of keeping the picture of whatever you wanted in your mind's eye, and asking politely that they didn't try to Accio any students or teachers from other classes.

About 20 minutes into the class, Hermione raised her hand and asked to be excused, and as she walked out she nudged Harry in the side.

'Well here goes nothing.' Harry thought. He threw the orange treat into his mouth and began chewing. Almost instantly, he felt himself start to shake and soon he was retching on the side of his desk, with several of his classmates ewing him and backing away.

Flitwick jumped down to his chair and cast a cleaning charm on the floor around Harry and while he did this Harry popped the purple chew into his mouth to get himself to stop. "Not feeling well Potter?" Flitwick asked, making Harry feel guilty by the concerned look on his face. "Thats alright, go to the hospital wing then, off with you. Do you need anyone to help you get there?"

Harry replied back weakly that he'd be fine, and he walked out of the classroom feeling rather shaky still, but before he could get too far, arms reached around him and dragged him backward into an empty classroom.

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Severus stumbled out of the fireplace he had just launched into and landed on the marble hearth of Dumbledore's office. He clutched a stitch in his side and half walked, half dragged himself out into the room, yelling out. "Albus... ALBUS."

He just couldn't take it anymore. He felt his knees give way, and he looked down to his hands which were stained with blood.

"_Fabulous job Severus... He's ready."_ Voldemort had congratulated him, yet what he had done...

Dumbledore walked down from his library which circled the room on a platform, and as he walked down the steps, Severus watched as his blue eyes looked through him, rather than at him. Severus felt paralyzed under the gaze.

"Is Molly..?" Was the first thing Dumbledore asked.

Severus breathed deeply and shook, yet he shed no tears. It took only a moment for him to pull himself together enough so he could stand, and once he did, he cast a cleaning charm on his self, and shook his head. "She's still alive, only just though."

Dumbledore did not speak for a moment, and as he stared at Severus, he felt as though he was burning from the scrutiny. "Will a ransom be sent?"

"Of course." Severus took a deep breath and walked forward, not really sure where to put himself, yet when Dumbledore took a seat at his desk, Severus did the same. The Pensive sat on the surface, and as Severus always did, he reached his wand to his temple to pull the memory of what had just happened out for Dumbledore to review, yet he felt himself hesitate, which went noticed.

"You know the agreement we have, Severus," Albus said quietly. "No matter how terrible..."

With all his will, Severus pulled the memory out of his head- since it was so new it shined brightly and flowed with a mind of its own as he brought it to the pensive, and watched it drop inside the basin to mix with all the other thoughts. This was the first time however, he had been so close to crying. What he had done...

Dumbledore's face was unreadable has he tapped on the edge of the container with his wand, and a window opened like a movie over the surface of the fluid.

The scene was of Voldemort sitting in a chair watching as Severus ran his hands down a naked Draco's back- Draco was strapped to a bed, and was gasping. His arse was in the air and a blindfold was over his eyes.

"_He is begging." Voldemort hissed out. "Punish him."_

The voices coming from the basin were weirdly echoed, however the sounds were just the same as in normal reality, and soon the sound of a whip cracking filled the room, and sobs emitting from the basin grew louder and louder until Severus felt he couldn't take it any longer. "Albus please, must we?"

"_He is a VIRGIN. A foolish virgin. " Voldemort yelled out. "And you know what we do with foolish virgins don't you Severus?" _

Dumbledore held his hand up to Severus, and he continued to view. What possibly could he gain from watching this? Severus felt so sick of himself and dirty- even more so when he heard his own voice echo out of the basin.

"_Prepare Draco..." The Severus in the basin whispered dangerously. _There was a sob again. Then Severus watched himself smack Draco's arse with a bare hand. Blood seeped from Draco's back and bruises were forming along his neck line. He was now imperfect, but not completely.

"Albus please..." Severus asked again, as he watched himself pull down his pants, and climb on top of Draco, and thankfully, before he was forced to view any more, Dumbledore made the image disappear with a tap of his wand.

Dumbledore was quiet, and his face remained unreadable. Severus didn't even have it in him to say anything- how could he? He felt like a monster. Finally, he was able to speak but only a little. "He wants Draco to kill the Minister."

As he bowed his head into his hands, Dumbledore took a deep breath and then looked back up to Severus, his forehead wrinkled from thought. "That is a suicide mission, surely Tom knows this." It seemed as though Albus was talking to himself; however he went on. "We must alert The Order to guard Scrimgeour."

1111

Hermione pulled Harry to the side of the classroom furthest from the door. "What in bloody hell is going on?" Harry demanded.

Hermione took a deep breath and everything that came out of her mouth seemed to be combined syllables and almost didn't make sense. "Ron was taken out of the common room around 3 this morning by Hagrid who told us that Ron's mother was missing. He took Ginny with him too, and told me he was going to get in contact with the twins, Bill and Charlie."

Harry felt his heart drop to the floor. "Voldemort's got her."

"How do you know, though?" Hermione bit her lip, winced a bit at the name, and began to pace.

Harry brought his hand up to his scar and rubbed his forehead as if he was hoping he could scrub it off. "My scar hurt last night, and then..."

Hermione's eyebrows raised. "And then?"

Harry gaped, and tried to think of another way to say it, but it was no good. "I went.. I went to Snape's room last night."

"You what?" But before Hermione could go on, Harry interrupted her by putting his hand on her mouth.

"Never mind that now. A man named Yaxley came in and said he had someone... and that it was a good thing." Harry pushed his glasses up his nose and closed his eyes. If only he had known...

Hermione was silent for a moment, and he watched as she walked over to the window and looked out it. The sky outside was a happy blue, and the sun glistened off the ribbons she was wearing in her hair and her chest raised and fell as she breathed, and it was obvious her thoughts were speeding through her brain fast.

"Harry..." She said finally as she turned to him. "I need to go back to class, but you must go to Dumbledore and tell him."

Without another word, the two of them headed out of the classroom, and Harry ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the halls. Guilt coursed through him and a fear that something terrible must have happened. He half heard a painting of a old woman wearing a warn pink dress yell out at him to slow down before he hurt someone, but he ignored it and ran to where Dumbledore was located.

Once he got to the office, he gasped for breath and knocked on the door loudly, and surprisingly it it sprang open on its own. Harry burst in to see Dumbledore nodding to Severus as he walked himself into the flames in the fire place, leaving Harry and Severus alone almost instantly.

"Potter!" Snape yelled out. "What're you doing here?"

Harry looked from the fireplace to Severus' pained looking face. "More importantly," Harry said. "What's happened?"

Severus, who felt as though he would rather leap into the fire head first rather than face Harry right now, spat out a reply of "Seeing as you are still in school, so therefore still considered under age..."

Harry walked forward and without realizing what he had done, he pushed Severus away from the fireplace and felt his fingers dig into the sides of Severus' arms. "Don't give me that bullshit, _Professor._"

Severus' eyes darted over Harry's face, knowing full well he could snap the 17 year old in half; yet he let Harry hold onto his arms as he pushed Severus backward into the stone wall. "I know he's got Mrs. Weasley."

"Once again Potter," Severus replied as he shrugged the boy off. "You show your ability to know way more than you're entitled to."

"More than I'm entitled to?" Harry repeated back, anger suddenly boiling. The lights in the room were obviously connected to the emotion given by the people inside because instead of blue as they usually were, they turned an angry orange. "If anyone deserves to know anything, it's me! Where is Dumbledore going?"

Severus felt himself soften without meaning to. Harry's face contorted with anger and desperation, and Severus understood. "He's going to alert the rest of the Order of what has happened, so he can hold an Emergency meeting, which I will now be late for."

Harry mouthed the words Emergency meeting, then grabbed a fistful of Severus' robes. "Your going to bring me. Don't give me any of that 'not part of the Order' crap either because I won't let you go without me."

Severus closed his eyes and opened them again. Harry's breathing was erratic, and his eyes were glaring with such an intensity that out of no where Severus felt the strong need to claim the boy's mouth, but he decided against it. "Alright then Harry." Severus said quietly. "If you could kindly let go of my robes, we can head to the Burrow."

1111

The Burrow, which was normally a welcoming sight, was cold and silent when Harry and Snape fell out of the fire place. Though they were covered in ash, Severus grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him through the dark room they were in, out into the hall way and down the stairs to the kitchen. Once they got there, Harry was again reminded of how cramped the little kitchen always was, because sitting around the table were Dumbledore, Arthur, Tonks, Kingsley, Mad Eye Moody, and Hagrid stood near the back door his head hanging low because he was far too large for the ceiling.

Arthur, who was usually a happy, cheery man, looked as though he had beaten over the head repeatedly, and perhaps he had- bruises covered his face, and Harry wondered why he hadn't just had them healed magically- but perhaps there just hadn't been time.

Tonks and Kingsly were arguing about something when Severus and Harry entered, and they stopped abruptly as soon as they entered. "Oh hello, Harry." Tonks said this sweetly, but her face didn't look very good. She too had bruises and her hair was mousy.

Kingsly however looked like his normal self, colorful robes and all, however he too had a look of being up all night on his face. His eyes met Severus' then Harry's, and as they reached Harry's, he spoke. "What is Potter doing here?"

"Who cares why he's here? We have work to do. The boy can take a little adult business." Moody spoke, his magical eye spinning as he did so to focus on both Harry and Severus.

Harry felt his appreciation for Moody grow ten fold, and he looked at Dumbledore for a sign that him being there was okay, and he got a small smile.

"Back to what we were discussing," Tonks premeditated. "The Minister must be kept alive."

"And what about Molly, are we just going to wait for her to be wasted away?" Arthur shot at Tonks, his hands shaking.

"You got 'ter remember remember Arthur." Hagrid said gently. "She's not goin' to be killed, not yet anyway. She's definitely being used fer bait."

"Hagrid's right." Dumbledore said. "There's nothing we can do until we get a moment to strike back."

Arthur stood and kicked the table leg so hard that it fell off, and his face turned red. "So we're going to let my wife suffer while we guard the worst Minister in history?"

Tonks grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to his chair while Kingsly repaired the table with his wand. "You know very well, Arthur that there's nothing we can do right now. However if the minister is assassinated.." Tonks shook her head.

Arthur covered his face and muttered, "I know, I know..." as Albus got up and nodded to Tonks and Kingsly. "So its settled then. You two will feed an anonymous tip that the Minister's life is in danger, and then once it gets later tonight, we can set up a better guard system."

Kingsly and Tonks nodded, and apparated on the spot back to the Ministry, while Mad Eye got up as well and walked over to Hagrid. "Hagrid and I will go back to Hogwarts and inform who we must."

"Good idea." Dumbledore turned to Harry and Severus, his tone changing to a much more pleasant one than Harry had heard from anyone that morning. "Arthur and I have to go to the Ministry, we have some things to do. Harry, I want you to spend the rest of the day here with Ron, and make sure he doesn't try to do anything rash." Dumbledore walked towards the back door with Mr. Weasley, Moody and Hagrid close behind. "And Severus, I want you to keep an eye on Harry."

With that, the four left out the door, leaving Harry and Severus alone once again.


	7. Five Rules

**A/N: 10 pages For The Win!!**

**High rating still applies. I apologize I'm not the quickest updater, I thank you all for reading and bearing with me! I hope you'll find this worth the wait... please leave reviews if you have time/ like what you're reading. Oh and I'm aware I screwed up with Harry's age and the time line I'm setting this in. He's 17 but this is set in sixth year. I'll just call it artistic license I guess.**

**Enjoy.**

The silence that filled the kitchen turned into a wall that formed itself around Harry and Severus. They glared at each other, unmoving, unblinking, not even daring to breathe. The longer they stared at each other however, somehow, their expressions softened and defenses seemed to weaken. The clocked ticked through the silence, its hands moving slowly as if time itself had frozen just for that moment. The metaphorical spotlight of life shined on the two males, and the cramped kitchen around them seemed to disappear and all that existed were these two bodies, each taking up their own space- Yet slowly drifting into each other's.

Harry felt himself make the first quick move; 'As always' he thought to himself as his hand shot up to grab onto Severus' arm. "More happened," He said quietly. Then..he could feel it, an underlining pain, almost like a fresh wound, filtering through the air. It was so strong he could almost taste it. It was no good- he had to say something. "At the Malfoy Manner. Something other than finding Mrs. Weasley happened."

Severus said nothing at first, but finally... "What makes you so sure?"

Harry's eyes moved up and down, scanning Severus' face as he shifted; the boy was pulling him closer, to the point he was almost clinging to his Potion's Master. "I just know. I don't need to be able to read minds to know something like that."

For a moment all the breath was sucked out of Severus and he didn't know what to do or say, how dare this.. this_ boy _touch him? Yet the thought did not linger; he realized he wanted all of Harry; laws and morals didn't matter anymore, nor did the voice in Severus' head that kept denying the fact that Harry wanted him as much as he wanted Harry... and Harry was what he wanted...

Hands became fists fulls of black hair, and body parts collided as Severus pushed The Boy Who Lived against the wall, his mouth searching for the prize. Shivers ran down Harry's spine as hot breath washed over his face- it shook his very core, and he felt as if he was going to melt. Finally, after what seemed like a eternity, they were kissing again. Severus wasted no time as he pressed his tongue to Harry's lips, and right away Harry opened his mouth to accept the intrusion.

Harry felt his head bounce against the wall a bit, but he ignored it, locking one of his legs up to Severus' side, and shifting his weight to the other. Severus had him pinned- His hands held Harry's arms against the wall, and his body was pressing against Harry in a way Harry had never experienced from either sex. Severus, being taller, was crouching down a bit so they were eye level, yet he was still pressed against Harry, and he knew their crotches were lined up; he could feel it. It was quite the experience to be sandwiched between a wall and a man you called teacher for six years. Harry felt exhilarated and scared at the same time- he had secretly wanted something like this to happen for a while now, but now that it was... He suddenly didn't feel ready, but he didn't want it to stop either.

Severus thrust his tongue into the boy's mouth, and he brought his hand up to hold the side of Harry's face. He felt all his shields fall at once- Harry was truly Krytonite like he had thought. Every time Harry opened his eyes to peer at Severus' face, the little flash of green made Severus feel confused inside. He knew he wasn't kissing Lily, yet a old memory of what she use to smell like resurfaced as Harry's scent filled his nose. Harry smelt like the Quidditch player-young student-17 year old boy- that he was, yet his life force... his self... smelled of his mother. And Markus... Harry's body was just like Markus's... yet better. Harry was a whole new type of experience, and Severus knew he was enjoying it more then he should have been aloud.

Due to lack of oxygen, their kiss broke. Both Harry and Severus panted as they looked at each other. Thoughts were running rampant through Harry's mind, each talking over one another and as much as Severus tried, he could not hear any of them clearly except for one. 'I want more.'

Harry's hands reached to hold onto Severus' sides, and he looked into the older man's eyes desperately looking for a sign of something, anything, that would indicate this was what would make it all better- whatever it was that was wrong. Because Harry was still so young and foolish in the ways of sexuality, this was all he knew to do to comfort, and at that moment, it was exactly what was needed.

Again the distance between them closed. They did not kiss, but rather they examined. Harry's hands were running down Severus' hips, and they remained pressed together. Severus looked as though he was going to kiss Harry again, but as quick as the situation had started, it stopped- Severus pulled away. "Not here." Severus muttered, running a hand through Harry's hair quickly before completely stepping away. "Your friend need you."

Harry's gaze snapped downward for a moment, but shifted back upward almost as fast. His face twisted into something close to defiance. "Ron can go to hell, you're the one that needs me." Harry's face saddened. "Tell me what happened."

Severus felt himself take a deep breath, partly out of frustration, and partly out of not being able to believe what he was hearing. Harry Potter, the descendant of the most arrogant man Severus had ever been unfortunate to meet, James Potter, was actually thinking of someone other then himself. If he were a Muggle, he may have even said this was something of a Kodak moment. Yet, since Severus didn't know what a Kodak was, he simply found it hard to describe how astounding this moment had become.

"Alright, Potter." Severus said as he let his sigh out. "Tonight, Dumbledore will return you and the other Weasley children to the castle, just in time for dinner. After it's over, come to my class room. I will be taking inventory..."

Severus quieted and turned his face to the entrance to the kitchen. Ron, who looked pale and shaken from not sleeping, stood there, staring at Snape. He looked as if he was going to say something, however words failed him.

Instantly Harry felt Severus' stance and presence change. He became more upright and authoritative- the Snape he had grown to know. "Because of your unfortunate event of having your mother being captured by the Dark Lord, I'll forgive your rudeness of staring."

Ron glared, his mouth opened wide, but before Ron could say anything, Severus beat him to the punch. "I will see you at detention, Harry. Albus will be back soon. Do not leave the house." With that, Severus turned toward the door- he took one last glance at Harry as he did, then he went outside to Apparate.

Ron walked over to Harry and shook his head. "He's such a Git."

"Yeah..." Harry replied, his eyes still on the door Severus had left out of.

Ron placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and sighed. "Don't let it get to you though, he's like that with everyone." Ron fell silent but then, he said... "But Harry... since when did he start calling you by your first name?"

11111111

The rest of the day was spent sitting in Ron's furnace of a room, watching Ron pace around trying to plan certain ways of trying to find his mother, each of which Harry shot down. It was getting ridiculous by the time Ron had reached using Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the Ministry to try to find out where his mother was being held.

Harry knew better than to tell Ron where his mother was. He felt bad about not telling the truth, but at the same time he knew perfectly well that Ron would go charging at the Malfoy Manner, wand at the ready, and would be knocked off instantly by the Death Eaters that must have been swarming around there. Harry just didn't have the heart to have to go in and save Ron , as selfish as it made him feel. All he had on his mind was meeting Severus that night, which was amplified when a owl swooped into the room and dropped a note written by Severus reminding him of the detention. It was obvious it had been written the day before, but it still made his insides squirm.

Ginny showed up around 4 O'clock to tell them that Dumbledore was down in the kitchen waiting to take them back to Hogwarts by Floo Powder because he had finally deemed it safe to return. Harry, who had been fantasizing all day, still felt his heart skip a beat as Ginny looked at him, which caught him off guard.

What the hell did he want if Ginny could still make his breath catch in his chest? As he walked behind her to the fire place, he couldn't take his eyes off how shiny her hair was, and how her robes showed off her faint girlish curves. He could tell Ron was getting annoyed that he was staring so intently at his sister, but he couldn't help it. Then he felt guilty. Ginny was attractive and everything, yet Severus was something more. Something he couldn't quite figure out yet...

Dumbledore was watching Harry, and as Harry grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from the pot he was holding, he could have sworn he heard the thought, 'Go with the flow.' enter his head but in Dumbledore's voice. He wasn't sure if he imagined it.

Harry waited for Ginny to disappear from the fire, then he followed suit and felt himself wishing dearly he could Apparate so he didn't have to ride in fire places anymore. It definitely wasn't his favorite way to travel.

111111

At dinner, Harry felt somewhat relieved. Hermione and Ron were speaking to him again, so he had someone to sit with. The main course was turkey and potatoes, one of Harry's favorites, meaning he was content with the food, and everything seemed fine, at least, until Ron elbowed him in the side. "Oh blimey Harry, get a look at that!"

Harry stared at Ron for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean?"

Ron pointed at the Slytherin table, towards the end, where Malfoy was sitting- Harry looked over curiously, and instantly saw what Ron thought was so amazing. Draco was sitting alone, quite beaten up. He wasn't bleeding however it didn't change the fact he looked like he had just been rolled down a hill in a trash can.

Malfoy was staring at his plate looking absolutely flattened, and as Harry watched, Pansy stood up from the other side of the table to investigate. She placed her hand on Malfoy's back once she reached him as if she were trying to give a gesture of some kindness, but this just seemed to cause Malfoy more pain. He began to wince, then he turned around and was clearly shouting at Pansy to the point it got the notice of some of the other students in the room. A few of the Slytherins at the table began to stare and Malfoy stood up, and he began to yell at them too before storming out of the hall.

Harry didn't give the display much thought, but Ron found it rather funny despite being so upset about his mother. Seamus eventually pulled Ron away leaving Harry with Hermione just as desert began to appear on the table. Harry didn't say it, but he was kind of grateful Seamus pulled him away- he wasn't in the mood to laugh at Malfoy's misfortune...

There was no sign of Snape; His chair once again stood empty, Along with several other of the teachers including Hagrid. Harry already knew why- a lot of them were trying to get Mrs. Weasley out of Voldemort's clutches. Dumbledore sat alone in the middle of the table staring into his goblet quite hard and Harry couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. He felt for a moment as though he might go ask if everything was okay, but he knew that too- nothing was fine. The Order had lost one of their own already so early in the war. Mrs. Weasley wasn't dead yet, but from what Harry had heard, she was as good as. He didn't have the heart to voice this to Ron, but he had a feeling Ron knew it too. If Mrs. Weasley did live through this, it would be a miracle.

Dinner ended, and the usual mob of students exited the Great Hall, along with babble of Quidditch matches and homework. Harry had almost forgotten about Quidditch. He was suppose to have been Captain this year when the season started in a couple weeks, yet his mind hadn't even wandered to that for days. Maybe, just maybe, if everything blew over, he would find it somewhere in his heart to be the Quidditch captain. However right then, all that mattered was his 'date' with a certain Professor.

Harry bid Hermione farewell at the bottom of the stairs, warning her not to come to his dorm room as he did, and she wished him luck with detention. Harry had a feeling she already knew Ron and Seamus were probably together.

He reached the class room without meeting anyone else, but then again he wasn't surprised. No other student in their right mind would mill around Professor Snape's classroom, especially after dinner. Harry almost felt like he had lost his mind with what was going on.

The door was open. Severus was sitting on the floor inside between tables with his sleeves rolled up, a scrubbing brush in his hand. He was scrubbing at a small cauldron that had a silver Slytherin S engraved on it. It looked rather expensive. Severus said, "Close the door and lock it." without looking up to see who was there.

Harry did what he was told and walked forward cautiously. The room was lit with candles as always yet the glow in the room was eerie and not at all natural. Severus continued to scrub, and Harry shifted from one foot to another, debating on where to put himself.

Deciding that sitting on the floor too was his best option, Harry did such, which prompted Severus to at last glance at him with his deep black eyes. The display was odd- Severus never seemed one to do manual labor, so what was he doing? Harry just had to question. "Why aren't you just using magic to clean that?"

Severus placed the brush in his hand inside the cauldron, and looked at Harry for a moment, as if trying to decide whether he wanted to answer or not, and when he did answer his voice came out low and was filled with an emotion Harry could not place.

"This cauldron belonged to my Mother. She was quite skilled in the craft of potion making, herself."

He looked tired. Harry could see the strain on his face- neither of them had slept for almost 24 hours now, but Severus looked like he hadn't slept for weeks; and perhaps he hadn't.

"My father," Severus continued. "Always told her she was being stupid. 'Potion making is for those who don't want to admit they are a squib!' He would say."

"But thats not true!" Harry exclaimed. "You're very skilled at magic... What you did in Dueling Club..." Harry stopped himself. He was meaning to compliment Severus, but he felt mentioning a moment that happened back in second year was slightly out of place for the conversation. He was actually being told about Severus' past.

"Thank you, Harry. I'll admiringly say, what you saw that day was almost nothing, without trying to sound... _egotistic_." Smiling a little, Severus turned back to his cauldron; continuing to scrub. "Though magic can't be perfect for everything. I value this cauldron more than a careless slip up with a wand. One problem with a lot of wizards Harry, is they tend to forget that some things in life should just be done on your own. Magic can make some people rather lazy."

Harry began to feel queer- the stone under his hands was so cold, but he had never felt so warm in his life. He was nervous; he was sitting on the floor of a class room with Severus as if they had been friends for years. The best part, or the worst (Harry couldn't figure out which) was that it felt _right_. As if he had done this before in a past life or something. Hearing Severus converse in such a way that made sense felt good. Though he was getting impatient... He still wanted to know what had happened the night before, but he started to feel he didn't want to ruin what he had going.

"Uh.." Harry realized now he didn't know how to address Severus anymore. They had kissed, and been through much more in the past 5 days then Harry would like to admit, yet Severus was still his Teacher, and he was still a Student. He settled on Professor still working, so he tried it out. "Uh, Professor..."

Severus looked at Harry with a very peculiar face as if he was trying to restrain himself from laughing. He didn't laugh, but he seemed to inch closer as he dropped his cleaning brush again. "That's right. I am your Professor, aren't I, Potter?"

Severus stood up, pulling his sleeves down as he did, and Harry got a full view of what he was wearing. It was astounding; he was wearing long robes of rose colored velvet that almost looked blood red. His robes pooled around his feet, swishing back and forth as he walked to one of the tables in the room. Harry became very aware he himself was still in his school uniform, and began subconsciously flattening them to himself in an attempt to look more put together.

"Sit down at the desk Harry, I want to teach you something."

The command was simple, but as Harry stood, he could feel himself become more nervous and twitchy. He placed himself at the table, folding his hands together and placing them on the surface as he did. He then looked at Severus, who leaned onto the desk so their noses were inches away from each other.

"I have some rules for you." Severus said quietly.

"Rules, _Professor?_" Harry smirked now, this was becoming more satisfying than he thought it would be.

"Yes rules. You are young... Age does not constitute knowledge, as you are proof of," Severus paused, his eyes closing, then locking with Harry's. "How ever, I do know you are inexperienced in... some aspects of life."

Harry's eyes widened, and he protested. "I am not that inexperien-"

Severus cut him off, and placed the palm of his hand on the side of Harry's face. As he did this Harry felt himself began to tingle for a reason that had nothing to do with magic. "Listen to me. Rule number one. No one is to know about this. You know why."

He did know why- Harry could see it now; if word got out he was having private sessions with his Potion's Master, even if it was just talking, not only would he become the laughing stock of the school, but Severus...The trouble Severus would get in would be more than Harry could even imagine bearing.

"Rule number two." Severus jarred Harry out of his thoughts, as he brought his face to Harry's ear and whispered into it. "I know best." Teeth found themselves gently scraping against earlobe, and gasps began emitting from the younger boy. "Now..." Growling as he spoke, sensuality dripped off Severus' every word. "Who knows best, Harry?"

"You do." The words came out as a whimper; Harry couldn't believe himself- the words he was itching to say for days now tumbled out of his mouth before he could even think to stop them. "I have a rule for you _Professor_." He said this between gritted teeth. "Rule three.. touch me."

111111

It was like a blur- Severus had a secret passage to his quarters in his closet, which he accessed by tapping the door three times in a complicated way so that when the door open, it was to a flight of stairs instead of Potions supplies.

Once in Severus' bed room, it was as if they were old lovers who had been separated because of war, or something just as disastrous; they were literally ravenous for each other's taste. Their tongues tangled as they kissed, and Harry was tugging at Severus' robes , but before Harry could get too into it, again Severus stopped.

"Now now, don't be so _hasty_." Severus pulled away and sat on the bed's front edge, looking like something on display as he sat on his sheets. The light flickered, and Severus was looking Harry over, scanning him. "Rule four. Patience is a virtue. Turn away from me and close your eyes."

Harry turned, his mind racing. Half of him didn't want to listen and just wanted to take advantage of the situation by just jumping on Severus, but the other half was excited, and the quivering from anticipation was just making him more horny.

Severus took off his robe on his own accord, and let them drop to the floor. The creature standing in front of him waited for instruction, and he, Severus, was the master; it was thrilling. "Take off your shirt."

Severus watched as Harry's fingers slipped down the buttons of his school shirt and loosed the knot in his tie so he could take that off too. His eyes remained closed but once his shirt was off he arched his shoulders back so he was standing more upright, and Severus realized what Potter was becoming- a creature with a lust. He, Severus, was that lust.

He stood up again, and walked over to Harry. The skin that was exposed was as expected, pale and imperfect, yet Severus couldn't get enough the minute he got close enough. His hands splayed across Harry's back and it was all of him not to dig his nails into flesh- to make Harry gasp. It was not that he wanted to hurt Harry, but rather, he wanted to mark him, he wanted to possess him, he wanted to _taste_ him. He refrained however and just enjoyed the fact that Harry's flesh had become covered in goosebumps. He placed his hands on Harry's stomach and pulled him close, placing his lips on the boy's shoulder blade, and began breathing in. He almost felt intoxicated by the scent, and he also wasn't sure how much longer he could continue the game of foreplay. Would Harry consent to what he had in mind?

Harry gasped to the touching, and felt his head arch back and Severus' lips instantly found his throat. Harry couldn't take the teasing anymore; he had to have more. "Severus... "A moan of longing erupted from him.

Snape kissed his neck all the way up to Harry's ear, and once again he whispered into it; the sound of the vibration made Harry whimper. " Rule Five... You belong to me." A hand began to undo Harry's pants, and unzip them, finally freeing the longing erection within. Harry had masturbated enough times to know his body enough to know he was not going to last long if Severus touched him- he felt he was going to burst.

The animal inside Severus roared its head and finally the thirst to just touch Harry enveloped him. He was rubbing against Harry from behind, his cock hard in his pants just as much as Harry's, but Harry mattered more at this moment. His long fingers caressed Harry's privates and the sharp intake of breath made all of the teasing and waiting worth it. Harry was going to be quick and easy, he could tell- but it wasn't really his fault he was a virgin after all.

Harry was breathing deeply, and looked as if he was having a bit of trouble standing because he was pressing against Severus for support, and Severus happily obliged, holding the boy up and moving his hand back and forth whilst he bit Harry's neck. Harry couldn't wait anymore, he was on edge-

Then it hit- orgasm shuddered through Harry and he felt himself leaking onto Severus' hands, his breath catching in his throat as he moaned. He was completely not able to stand anymore, and suddenly felt very grateful that Severus was so strong.

Once Harry came back down from euphoria, he suddenly felt very exposed and embarrassed. He didn't know whether to move or not, and if Severus may want the same- but Severus answered his questions for him by walking over to his robes and pulling out his wand, using it to clean up his hand. He then opened up the side draw of the dresser and pulled out a couple tissues, and handed them to Harry.

Harry hastily cleaned himself up and placed his cock back into his pants, feeling rather tired and hungry, but also not knowing what to do with himself. He couldn't believe that had just happened. Severus gestured for Harry to come over to the bed and sit with him, so he obliged, happy to have some direction.

Harry sat, and stared at the older man, feeling star struck. Severus' eyes were glazed over, and his hair was in his face- Harry couldn't tell what he himself was feeling, but whatever it was, Severus' face mirrored it. Did he have to say thank you now? He didn't know. That was his first sexual experience besides kissing, and it had been amazing- but now... things weren't awkward, but they were quiet. Finally, Harry said the only thing that came to his mind as he sat there, watching Severus' eyes become downcast.

"Rule five, _Severus_." Harry watched his teacher for a moment, trying to think of the right words, but then it came. "You have to remember how devastatingly _beautiful_ you are."

The word beautiful was whispered questionably on Severus' lips. He had never been described as beautiful before- and he knew he wasn't. His nose was hooked, and his hair was always lank from working with potions all the time... and he had so many scars hidden under the shirt he was wearing... yet Severus read off of Harry's eyes that he was being sincere.

Severus locked his arms around Harry and pulled him close into a hug that he was absolutely certain he didn't want to end. They slowly laid down together, continuing to hold onto each other as they did- neither of them uttering another word. They stared at each other until Harry drifted to sleep.

The boy's breaths came in slow and soft, and once again Severus was left to watch him sleep. His thoughts questioned what he was doing over and over, but soon he realized it didn't matter anymore.

Severus wasn't holding back any longer, he couldn't. He had been through hell and back again, been through heart ache like he couldn't believe and this time it was his chance to maybe get what he wanted finally- how could he possibly let that go?


	8. Rule One: No one Is To Know

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing.  
**

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The sun was rising but the sky was no where near clear. As Snape sat on the window sill of the Owlry, he noted how the sky seemed to reflect how he felt inside. The night he had with Harry went far better than he could have hoped for, yet the situation with Molly, (along with all the baggage attached with his true feelings) everything brewed up the storm now cussing on the edge of the euphoria he had temporarily felt. As he contemplated the eventual outcomes of his actions, an owl landed next to him, clicking its beak as if it were asking Severus if he had any treats. Though he did not have any, the owl gave him a sudden idea of inspiration.

Severus pulled a quill, a piece of parchment, and an ink well from the pocket of his robes. As he opened the container, the ink inside glittered green in the weak sunlight, reflecting breifly off the stone walls around him. He took a deep breath and sank the pointed quill into the ink and began to write out a letter which became longer than he had intended. Once done, he re-read his handy work, checking for errors and fixing them with his wand. It took a while, but eventually he was pleased with how he worded the letter. He rolled it up tightly; attaching it to his curiously watching owl friend.

The owl almost seemed to nod in aknowlagement to how important the letter he was carrying was-gracefully it flew out the window quickly fading out of sight.

As Severus hopped out of the window sill, his mind felt more jumbled than it had when he walked up to the Owlry in the first place. He knew he had to get back to Harry before he awoke for class; If Severus wasn't there, Harry was sure to feel he did something wrong- he couldn't bare for that to happen. On the flip side, if Harry wasn't there when he returned, and last night turned out to be a cruel joke, that still wouldn't be worse than Harry being disappointed. His mind wandered briefly to the owl heading to its destination- he didn't worry about it being intercepted, but rather, he worried about the idea he had not going well.

His heart began to ache then; Oh to just hold Harry again...

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His hands gripped the blankets, and his body was drenched with sweat. Thoughts raced in his mind, thoughts that were not his own. Faces, names, scenarios flashed through his head, and yet he slept on, as if he was almost stuck in a limbo of dream and reality.

But then- abruptly it stopped- and Harry could see nothing but the inside of eyelids; yet he knew they weren't his, they were someone else's. They were Voldemort's. Soon they opened, and Harry could see he was in a room and anger was pulsating through him; anger towards others in the room. He had been sitting, but now he was rising to full hight, easily towering over everyone in the room. In front of him was standing a woman with violent pink hair; it was Tonks. She was cut up pretty bad, and the black robes she wore were completely soaked.

"Did you really think that this would trick me?" Harry said in Voldemort's high pitched cold voice. "Morphing into the little slave girl that lives in the kitchens?" With a glare, Voldemort invaded Tonk's mind, playing out a scene in which rain pelted down from the heavens, blurring the view of anything within 3 feet.

For a moment, everything became illuminated as a lightning bolt streaked across the sky- Tonks stood with her body against a marble wall, her eyes darting this way and that as the thunder sounded. She had lost communication with the others, and it was starting to seem that she was the only one to make it to the destination. There was only one thing left to do now- Tonks twisted around, whipping her wand out of her pocket as she went, and cast a Patronus before heading towards the garden in front of her.

Tonks ran, and as she did, mud kicked up from under her boots leaving her footprints across the lawn. She dived between two hedges as the wind picked up, billowing out the cloak she was wearing. Once again thunder echoed through the empty lawn, and she had to push her hair out of her face to see. It loomed ahead now- the Malfoy Manor- much like an elegant fortress. It nearly glowed in the darkness as rain pelted off of the roof. The building was made out of white marble just like the surrounding wall, but the edges were gold plated. She could see her way in once she got to the heart of a sitting area built into the hedges. She passed a bench that had a plaque on it, that she was able to read when another lighting bolt struck.

_**Woe all who rest here.**_

_**Darkness is thy friend.**_

Tonks didn't have time to register what this meant. She did however see her target- a young girl wearing rags was coming out of the back door of the manor, followed by a House Elf. She looked as if she was a slave to the kitchen, and lived somewhere on the grounds. The fact that the Malfoys had human slaves didn't seem the least bit strange to Tonks- she looked as if she was a Muggle, so possibly You-Know-Who had given her to them as a play thing. The idea became even more true when the little girl turned and a cut was running down her cheek.

This was her only chance- Tonks took out her wand again and sent a stunning spell to the both of them. The girl's fragile frame fell to the ground fast, but it took a moment for the spell to effect the Elf. The Elf had long enough to run to the little girl and shake her hysterically, while the red spell circled her, then finally seeped its way in.

Quickly, Tonks rushed forward and levitated the girl and the Elf into a near by bush, hiding them well. She then concentrated on the little girl's pigtails and height, and she could feel herself change into a exact replica of the girl, down to the cut on the cheek. As her flesh cut away, pain shot through her ; she couldn't even imagine how it would have felt to be given the wound in normal circumstances. Finally, she transfigured a dress onto her frame and took off back to the house.

"So easy" Voldemort hissed. "to read. So weak. Where are your other friends? Why aren't they here to save you? Is it perhaps, that they know- know that no one tries to interfere with Lord Voldemort and gets away with it?"

Tonks lurched forward, her hair turning an angry red as she did. The Death Eater that was holding her nearly let go in surprise, but his grip stayed strong. Tonk's face took on a snarl, and she spat at Voldemort's feet. "Go ahead, kill me. Kill the rest of the Order along with me." Again she lurched forward, and even thought she was wandless and defenseless, not once did a look of fear cross her features. "You're the weak one. You'll never win. There will always be good in this world to fight you."

Harry saw a thunderbolt crash outside the window, and there was a pause. Then, a very loud hiss erupted through the air. Neither Tonks or the Death Eater seemed to recognize what was being said, but Harry could. His mouth moved as Voldemort hissed out a command to his snake, Nagini.

Then- everything became black once more, and Harry shot up in bed, hyperventilating. Sweat dripped down his back, and he looked around confused at the blur around him. He quickly found his glasses, which were discarded on the edge of the bed, then realized there was something missing-Severus.

For a minute, panic over came Harry over what he'd just seen, but then a overwhelming feeling of sadness engulfed him. It would have been okay if he had dreamed the night before, but because he was sitting half naked in Severus' bed, he knew that wasn't the case. But what was he to do now? Harry wasn't suppose to be seeing these things, but he couldn't ignore that Tonks was now in trouble along with Mrs. Weasley. Voldemort seemed to be in a far away prison, unnamed, and unvisited by the common man; Yet, even though Harry knew he had no hope of destroying Voldemort, the urge to charge head first into the Malfoy Manor was taking over- even more so now that he felt completely useless and alone.

Where was Severus now? Was he rushing to be by Voldemort's side? Or perhaps he just went to take a walk and didn't want to wake Harry- Or... perhaps he couldn't face Harry; Maybe he felt ashamed. Harry knew very little about Severus and how he would react in this kind of situation- and the realization of this was terribly painful- more painful then knowing Tonks was probably dead somewhere and there was nothing he could do. He was sure Dumbledore was aware of what Tonks had done and what the danger was, it was him who sent members of the order on the mission in the first place, but he still wondered if he should go inform the Head Master, or just go find Severus' shower and possibly drown himself.

Drowning himself sounded more appealing, or at least getting some clothes on before rushing to Dumbledore- though he was sweaty, and he smelled very odd- possibly of his own cum, so as much as Tonks' situation worried him, he knew in his heart there was not much he could do at the second.

The bathroom was larger then Harry had expected- it was by no means as large as the Prefect's bathroom, which he had visited in fourth year, but once he found the door to it, he was expecting nothing more than a shower and a loo, but it was more like a second den. Severus seemed to be a man who was easily inspired once in bath water, because even then, laying open was a note book, which was placed near the side of the pool sized tub in the middle of the room. The room itself was lit by candles as was everything at Hogwarts, but the light of the candles gave his reflection in the far mirror a interesting distortion.

Harry picked up the note book out of curiosity, his footsteps echoing strangely across the room. All that was written in the pages, however, were strange calculations, figures, and some words that Harry couldn't understand, but was sure were potions ingredients. As he thumbed through, the writing, though nothing he could take comfort in, eased the ache he now felt, at least enough that he now felt he could maybe shower in peace. But then he saw it, the last page towards the back- a page had been folded over so the edge of it lay against the binding. He slowly pulled it back, and written on the page in loopy letters, were the words 'I think I love him.'

Harry's hand became a bit slack as he stared at the words on the page for what seemed like a eternity, then he placed the book back where he had found it, but opened to the page. Half of him wanted Severus to know he had been looking through his personal notes, but the other half didn't. He didn't know if Severus would be angry- he just didn't know anything.

11111

The shower was on, Severus could hear it through the rather thin walls that had been built between his bedroom and the bathroom. In a way, Severus was glad, because it took the mystery away of the empty bed he came back to find. Severus invited himself into the bathroom silently, to find a soapy naked Harry standing behind the glass doors of his shower stall. Harry hadn't noticed Severus' arrival yet, which just added a certain 'voyeur' air to the situation. Harry had his eyes shut as the water cascaded over his face, and he was humming something.

Severus brought his hands to the top of his cloak, which he had put on to keep warm in the cold October air up in the Owlery and slowly took it off. He didn't feel the need to rush; Harry was quite the sight. He almost took his shirt off as well, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet. The vision of the perfect self Severus had seen in Harry's dream loomed into his mind's eye, making him second guess his sudden decision to get naked. Harry would be sourly disappointed by how he really looked, wouldn't he not?

Harry's eyes snapped open, and he quickly spotted Severus. The internal struggle Severus was having was resolved by Harry turning off the water and stepping out. "There you are..." Harry said breathlessly. But then, Harry's look of joy turned to one of concern. "Voldemort has Tonks."

Harry's respect for Severus was once again felt when no sign of flinching was shown. Harry was grateful for it, he was sick of treating Voldemort like something to be afraid of, it was just pointless after all.

Severus was however stunned for a second to be bombarded by this, his hand still placed at the top of his shirt. Harry wrapped a towel around himself modestly, and closed his eyes again. "I saw her in front of him, and I didn't know what to do. I'm not suppose to be seeing these things anymore." He looked apologetically toward Severus like a child who's hand had been caught in a cookie jar.

"Oh Harry." Severus walked forward and clung to him as if he were a life raft. "Dumbledore needs to know these things, have you been telling him? Does he know about Tonks?"

"No... I just woke up and took a shower. Dumbledore wanted me to be learning Occlumency because of this after all...And, I was afraid I was going to wake up finding out I had Sleep Walked again, and hurt you or something." A great intake of breath came from Harry and it was almost as if he was ready to burst into tears.

"Well Tonks is in trouble now, there's no such thing as right or wrong currently." Severus pulled Harry away from himself and looked down at the yearning emerald eyes, repulsed at himself for feeling so passionate and caring. If this had been a month ago, he surely would have shaken the boy to death, screaming about how stupid Harry was being, but he couldn't bring himself to it. "I need to go see Albus. I need you to go to class and act like everything is normal."

"You're going to go to Voldemort today aren't you?" Harry sounded as if Voldemort was the name of some fancy bar that all men went to when they wanted to get drunk and womanize.

"It looks that way."

Harry looked downward knowing Severus had done this millions of times, and nothing was going to change just because he was suddenly in the picture, but he sensed the fact that the closer he and Severus got, the more dangerous the visits with the Dark Lord were going to be. He wanted to express this, but then Tonk's defiant face swam through his thoughts. Severus had no choice.

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Spells shot from every direction and combined with the rain, the situation was blinding. Moody was wielding his wand this way and that sending disarming spells around him, and he heard a grunt as it hit one of the Death Eaters he was aiming for.

"Nice shot, Mad Eye!" Kingsly shouted from behind a grave stone- a blast of purple light came out of nowhere and smashed into the grave, sending rubble into the air, narrowly missing Kingsly's face.

Hagrid wielded his pink umbrella by Kingsly and sent a sheild spell to protect both he and Kingsly. "Are you alrigh'?"

Kingsly dismissed him- "I'm fine, put down your shield- we need to keep distracting them. Better they be here with us then messing with Tonks."

Hagrid let down the shield, and stood back to back with Kingsly, whilst Moody flipped into the air, pulling something that someone his age should not have been able to pull off. A Death Eater came out behind a head stone labeled with a bunch of Malfoy family, and shot at the trio. "I've got you now!"

A green sprout of light hit Kingsly right in the chest, and Kingsly's eyes widened with surprise as he landed on the ground, quite dead.

Hagrid roared, as did Moody and both of them charged for the remaining Death Eater, each shooting out stunning spells, which did nothing but bounce against headstone after headstone the Death Eater dived behind. The Death Eater was laughing now, and Moody finally couldn't take it anymore. Green light shot out of his own wand, and down the Death Eater went, a grin permanently on his face.

Moody and Hagrid breathed for a moment, looking at each other, keeping their ground in case anyone else charged. When no one did Hagrid turned around to go investigate Kingsly.

"Theres no time Hagrid!" Moody yelled over the storm. "He's dead, we have to go back up Tonks! Hagrid lets go!" Moody barely came up to Hagrid's hairy arm, but he still grabbed onto it and tugged, and the two of them took off to the manor in the distance. At that instant, a high cruel laugh erupted from somewhere inside the building, then terrified screams followed.

Hagrid and Moody looked at each other, and another strike of lighting hit the ground, illuminating every crevis in Moody's face. "We're too late Hagrid, we have to turn back."

"No!" Hagrid sobbed out against the rain. "We already lost Kingsly and possibly Molly.. We have to try!" He continued to run towards the house, but this time he was not followed by Moody. Moody knew he could never hope to stop the half giant now, and his years of experience told him now was the time to run. So with great pain, he watched as Hagrid charged full force for the door, and apparated back to Hogsmead to inform the others that Tonks was no longer alive.

11111

Severus' first thought was to rush to the headmaster's office and bombard him with the news of what was going on. The urgency of the situation presented itself quite quickly when it suddenly felt as if his arm was about to be torn off- he would have been brought to his knees if he had been younger and less experienced, like he was when he first got the mark. As he staggered through the main hall, morning stragglers not yet in class glanced at him slightly afraid; his face couldn't have been pleasant.

A burning sensation ripped through his body, and he felt himself blindly launch himself into the nearest classroom when the pain reached it's peak. Inside were a couple of students kissing, and they screamed out loud as Severus came crashing in. all he had the strength to do was to tell them to get out, as he gripped onto his burning left arm through his robes.

The two students looked at each other and ran for it, both knowing full well not to cross with Professor Snape, and Severus collapsed against the stone wall, his arm throbbing in pain, and his eyes cloudy. He pulled back the sleeve of his robes, and stared down at his assailant- a black mark etched deep into his skin in the shape of a skull with a snake in its mouth stared back up at him. It looked as if it should have been bleeding, almost like a festering wound, but it was not.

It took a minute of Severus panting before he regained his posture. The Dark Lord was angry; terribly so. He was calling Severus, his most loyal servant to his side; the one he trusts the most. The world swam in front of Snape, and almost as quickly as if came, the pain was gone again, and his mind became clear again. He didn't have time to tell Dumbledore what was happening, but he couldn't just leave everyone not in the know. After a minute or so thought, Severus did the best he could to conjure up a Patronus ( a spell that was never his speciality) giving it special instructions to rush to Dumbledore. The Patronus was curiously still shaped like a silver doe- that was at least one thing that hadn't changed in the past few days. His love for Lily still burned brightly.

He released the Doe out into the the hall, and waited for all the gasps from others to die away. None of them could disrupt such an important spell, so he had no worry his message wouldn't be sent. He did however know very well he had to start thinking fast. The Dark Lord no doubt already drained the feeble mind of Tonks dry and he was now well aware the Order knew of their planned attack on the Minister. Tonks was no doubt dead by now, and Molly was probably raped a few more times before she too died, and the thought actually grated at him, when things normally did not.

He billowed out of the classroom once the sounds of suprise faded, heading straight for the front door now, his wand still clutched in his left hand incase anyone tried to interupt him. His forearm stung still, and the feeling of urgency hung around his head. Once he reached the gate he look a look back at the Castle, and ached; in one of those many rooms, Harry now paced back and forth, head full with worry and hurt.

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Class was torture. Harry's stomach was empty from him missing breakfast, but that was the least of his worries. Ron sat at a different group of desks today with Seamus, so he couldn't whisper his worries to him discretely. Hermione kept asking him what was the matter in a near hiss, but every time he started to say something, Professor Sprout shushed them. They weren't in the green houses today; there was a bad bout of upper-respiratory flu with the Russian Red Raspberries. So all the green houses were being quarantined until it was over.

Professor Sprout was drawing diagrams on the chalk board, and Harry really didn't actually see anything she was writing. He fidgeted this way and that, and he stayed that way until morning break, and even then when Hermione dragged him into the Great Hall and shoved a muffin in front of him, he was becoming more and more numb.

"So you saw Voldemort..." Hermione said slowly, her eyes boreing into Harry's and were becoming more and more like dinner plates by the second.

"No, I was Voldemort." Harry corrected her again. He went to say more, when a Slytherin he was sure went by the name of Jake inconviently appeared, with a sneer on his face.

"Potter, is it true?"

"Is what true?" Harry replied, feeling his face blanch.

"There's a rumour going around school that you were seen coming out of Professor Snape's quarters right after he left them." Jake made a face of disgust. "Were you hoping to play favorites? Won't really work will it, with all the remedial potions he already has to teach you."

Harry felt himself launch up, all of the anger and fear he had been feeling the past few hours suddenly bubbled over and before Hermione could stop him, Harry was on top of Jake, yelling a curse to bind him to the floor. Jake let out a muffled cry and Harry got back up, storming out of the Great Hall, ignoring the countless shouts behind him to come back.

He walked away quickly, slamming himself into the same empty classroom Severus had borrowed use of earlier. He thrust out the Marauder's map, searching it fervently for Dumbledore, and cursed loudly when he couldn't find him. Everyone important had left the castle it seemed, except for the manditory teachers to keep the castle safe. What was he suppose to do, just sit here and fester?

Harry walked around the class room 10 times before he realized he couldn't go back to class. It was taking too much out of him just trying to not chase after Severus- but what was he suppose to do? He knew if he approached Ron to go on a rescue mission, it would only take two words consisting of "Malfoy Manor" and he'd be gun ho to go anywhere.

He took out the map again and scoured it for the dot labeled Ron. It was very close to the dot labeled Seamus; he couldn't bring himself to ruin the only thing Ron had left either.

Harry sighed frustrated, and he was about to leave, when there was a soft knock on the door. A feminine voice floated from behind the heavy door, and at first he thought he was imagining it. "Harry? Are you still in here?"

Frozen, Harry concidered if he should answer the voice or not, but in his frenzied state he figured he had no choice. "Yeah, Ginny, I'm still in here.."

The door opened carefully, and a pair of light brown eyes looked inside the room, as if expecting it to be on fire. "I saw what happened in the Great Hall.."

Harry felt himself blush a little as he backed away from her to sit on a dust covered desk. "Yeah... I can't explain that."

Ginny walked into the class room completely and shut the door behind her, drifting toward him with a half smile on her face. "Well I figured he must have said something pretty nasty. Filch had to scrape him off the floor with a metal spatula. I guess being a squib really sucks sometimes." Ginny let out a feathery little laugh, which was like a breath of fresh air to Harry.

He tilted his head and cast her a long look, taking in the muted colors of her features in the poor light. "How can you still be laughing? You don't know if your mother is okay."

"That's the thing Harry." Ginny said, finally sounding a little sad. "I'm not sure how I'm holding myself together. I should be going to pieces." She started to swing her legs back and forth while looking upward. She was wearing a yellow sun dress under her robes, which peaked somewhat between the gap between the buttons. Her hair was in a pony tail, and Harry noted how she was also wearing some makeup. How strange...

They were silent for a few moments and then she sighed. "Well if you won't tell me what's wrong, I'm going to just assume it's pertaining to my mom."

Harry tried to not look guilty but it didn't work. Ginny just nodded, but she still didn't utter a single cry. "That would explain why there's so few teachers here today. I expected this from the beginning- I can't say I'm at all surprised." She shrugged. "Not even Snape is here. He's probably off kissing Voldemort's ass somewhere."

The familiar anger bubbled in Harry's chest again, and he really had to fight to not direct it at her. "He's not- not at all! He's just..."

What did he want to say? Busy? Playing spy? He instantly noticed that Ginny was paying attention to how defensive he was with interest.

"Harry... Is it true you were with Snape last night?" Her eyes bore into him in a way he didn't think possible. If only she weren't so beautiful...

"I can't say." Harry said finally, grimacing as he did. He didn't want to lie to Ginny, but he also didn't break Severus' first rule either.

The rules- so important last night, but now seemed silly and self involved. If he had known he was going to wake up to all of this he may have wished the happenings of the night before had been held off for a more happier time, a time of peace where Voldemort no longer existed, and Harry could have what he wanted- the man he wanted...

That thought struck him as weird. Ginny was sitting infront of him so breathtaking, and yet his mind was on a man. Part of him wanted to kiss her just to throw away all of his emotions and see if it were really true- to see if he were really gay...

Before he could dwell on this thought any longer, he was suddenly blinded in agony. His hands instinctively clasped over his scar, a scream accidentally escaping his lips. Voldemort's voice erupted through his mind, and it was as if the high cruel voice was whispering right in his ear. "We still need to use the boy, he is not ready. But just to be sure, Severus, I want to see where your loyalties lie."

Voldemort had his hand on Severus' shoulder. Though Harry couldn't see it, he could feel it. He heard a door swing back word and Severus reply back "As you wish, my Lord."

Harry screamed again, wanting to break out of the painful vision- and he realized he was on the floor of the classroom, Ginny shaking him violently. "Harry, Harry! You need to go to the hospital wing, your head is split open!"


End file.
